Related
I'll admit that when it comes to creating apps and widgets, I know absolutely nothing, but thought I'd throw this question out there. One thing that most people seem to love about Rosie are the widgets available for it. I know that the HTC widgets can't be ported to any other rom we use, but would it really be hard for a decent developer to recreate them for the G1? I'm a bit surprised I haven't heard of anyone trying this, they could put together a couple of the widgets Rosie has and throw them on the market for a couple of bucks each, people would buy them. I know if someone remade the Weather widget or Twitter, I'd grab them in a second.
DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS
But seriously....
Widget development have only become a possibilty (relatively) recently with 1.5, and Hero was just released a very short time ago.
Patience, young grasshopper.
/run Patience.exe
...loading...
process aborted, insufficient ram available. Retry? [Y/N]
I know, I'm pretty patient, just hope someone out there has thought about doing this. Kind of a no-brainer, someone has to be playing with it about now.
kitsunisan said:
/run Patience.exe
...loading...
process aborted, insufficient ram available. Retry? [Y/N]
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Click to collapse
hahahaha that was funny, i agree though, with some of this stuff it seems like we are moving faster than i can keep up, and yet some stuff seems to be stuck in yesterday. if it weren't for so many people messing up their phones on the new SPL i would know what widget you were talking about, but i'm scared till i get another G1(hopefully soon), so the dude builds will have to do it for me
http://android-dls.com/droid-dev-challenge.html The weather app that got second in his challenge is pretty close to the hero one look wise, not as graphically pleasing but its pretty decent
http://www.cyrket.com/package/com.androidapps.widget.weather
Hey, I'm starting a think tank to see if we can get an HTC Sense port started for the Vibrant.
This would be very hard to do, considering the lack of drivers and such, but it might be possible.
considering how long it took and they still never could get it to work on the original droid....highly doubtful
I love it when people create think tanks but contribute nothing....it's just a hey, wouldn't it be cool if we do this? and belongs in General Chat
actually there was a succesful port to the droid but you are right there are multiple threads about sense and the chances of it happening are very slim. devs do what THEY want to do not what other people do.
igm503 said:
actually there was a succesful port to the droid but you are right there are multiple threads about sense and the chances of it happening are very slim. devs do what THEY want to do not what other people do.
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thought it was still really really buggy?
yeah let's think tank about what an atrocity it would be to bring that abomination over...
G1 was probably the most developed phone... and there were about 100 threads shooting down Sense on the G1... it requires so much work... that its pretty pointless.. especially concidering a good amount of the widgets have been recreated... etc etc
What about it requires so much work? As a person with no programming experience what so ever, I have trouble understanding why what seems like mostly a different interface has so much trouble running on hardware that is clearly powerful enough to run it.
Just an honest question.
dezvous said:
What about it requires so much work? As a person with no programming experience what so ever, I have trouble understanding why what seems like mostly a different interface has so much trouble running on hardware that is clearly powerful enough to run it.
Just an honest question.
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Click to collapse
you need to port the entire senseui framework over, not just the widgets
For starters most of the phones that Sense has been ported to are HTC phones that come with out it, there are exceptions though, HTC, makes Sense so stands to reason it would be easier to port to an HTC phone, as the tools support them.
Second, unlike porting Opensource items and OS's to other phones, HTC Sense is proprietary and licensed only for HTC phones, so it is not a grey area of porting, it is just illegal to port it.
The Sense UI is more than just a "Home Replacement" like ADW , Launcher Pro and even TouchWiz, it really ties in a lot deeper with the OS.
good going to de-rail the noob...
i use launcher pro plus and a scene dock its not the same but close enough since lp pro widgets are close to sense widgets it works ok
Not to mention having to build a kernel that supports sense
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
I've had the phone for over 24 hours now, well two devices as the first one was faulty, so trust me this isn't biased lol. But, I can tell you that Microsoft has definitely gone in the right direction with this OS. Even though I was a tremendous Windows Mobile fan boy, it just didn't feel efficient or enjoyable towards the end. We needed UI enhancements and the amazing work of some talented chefs in order to have the urge to use our phones daily. Applications ran slowly, phones were constantly freezing, and the general public just didn't want that occurring on a $500 device. And though this is one of my gripes about Windows Phone, the ability to access your storage through a file explorer was truly a headache when it came to a general user. Though, with that being said, I do hope they add some "documents" interface to Zune and allow us to place our files on an accessible location...
But this operating system has the ability to be flawless. Microsoft's iron fist allows for the experience to be enjoyable. I don't need to worry about the newest version of Sense not running on my device and I definitely don't need to worry about a 1ghz processor struggling due to horrible code. I do miss my ability to access EVERYTHING, and I mean everything...I've been on this forum since my Dash, so I consider myself an addict at this point. But, this is by far the fastest Windows device I have ever come across, hands down, and it's a breath of fresh air.
My biggest problem with our community, myself included, is that we often forget that this is version 1.0 of the OS...think about that people, 1.0...and yet we have a decent app store, with an amazing OS, feature incomplete though. The features will come, but I rather have the OS now, missing features, than have to wait for it...I can tell you that this will definitely be a game changer. I have little doubt that microsoft will listen to our requests and implement the majority of what we're asking...with the exception of the obvious, such as root access and the ability to completely screw up your phone, like some of you are so hell bent on doing while accessing everything.
The random hiccups of black screens while switching back from programs, and other minor problems I've encountered I'm sure will be ironed out, but we need to make sure these don't cloud our judgment. Whether you become a fan or not, I wish most of you would just realize that Windows Phone on the HD7 is probably the best thing we could have hoped for, and I'm looking forward to the future of this phone and operating system. This device also feels amazing...not sure where the build quality questions came from, I don't even have the pink camera issue...it's a much better feel in my hand than my HD2. I thought of putting this in the WP7 general, but since my thoughts are based on my device, thought I'd keep it here...
I agree 100%. The phone is not all-the-way complete yet, but I can honestly say I am very impressed. If the few tweaks are made here and there (e.g. visual voicemail, extended settings, file system, sideload apps, etc.) we could have the best OS of them all.
I cannot understate the elegance and beauty of this device and OS. It is sooo smooth - this is what the mobile experience should be. Some complain about no Multitasking, but I am not one of them. In fact I think it kills battery and can cause major problems. Plus it's mobile phone! How many tasks do I need to do at once? One!
Anyway, I'm loving it so far - even though I'd like to make some simple changes like searching the marketplace for apps only and leaving music out of the results.
BTW- the Market is coming along nicely. Pretty good selection to far.
It's simple and beautiful. Or simply-beautiful
I agree. I love my EVO, not a fan of my DROID X and can't stand the lag of the Samsung Fascinate.
I picked up the HD7 recently while waiting for the Dell Venue Pro to release. I cannot stress how smooth the OS really is. I have tweaked and tuned and spent countless hours on ROM loads with my EVO all the find out they are very good but are always in need of tuning. Perhaps some of that is due to my constant reading of these forums and seeing updates
I know some have said no Unified Messaging. I rarely use it just like cut and paste.
I wish they would have persistent notication icons on the top bar. That would be nice. I received an update on the Marketplace and didn't realize it was there until I scrolled down. The updates are nice though.
I can say that I am very happy with some of the well known APPS. They seem to be better looking than IPHONES or ANDROIDS. Shazam is nice with the Zune button/integration feature. Huffington Post needs to fix the text but it is very nice. AP News etc. The APPS seems to be more robust when they follow the Metro UI theme.
Need a bigger battery for the HD7. It is not bad but could be much better with a 1500mAH or 1700mAH. I am checking my sources for them now.
It is worth the look people who are on the fence.
I agree I have used every OS out there and this one has the most potential I think. I also picked up the Hd7 Waiting on the Venue Pro but will keep both cause the HD7 Is a fantastic device.
I am 100% with the op, this is version 1.0 and it is a very good start, the os is buttery smooth and intuitive to use, MS have got this one right!
Ive been seriously looking at the WP7 series and I'm curious to hear from real-world users who have been in the same boat as me. I've been an Android person for the past year now and as much as I like Android, I like to keep my options open too!
So tell me - why did YOU switch from Android to WP7 and would you do it again if you had the chance ?
I've been playing with WP7, mostly to see what "the other side" has been up to. I've had WinCE devices going back to the 1.x days, and always loved it, but trying to cram a desktop OS into a hand-held device always seemed awkward.
I got an iPhone and loved it for a couple of years, but got handed a G1 and fell in love with the potential that Android represented. It wasn't quite "there" yet, so I switched back and forth from Android to iOS and back for a good year before settling full-time with Android on my Nexus One.
Now I've got a Nexus-S and I love it, but I was able to play with a WP7 device in the form of the HD7, and I really like it, however...
Coming from Android, Google's services, search, GMail, and Maps, are so much better in ability than Bing, Hotmail, and Bing Maps that I missed my Nexus S. I love the user-interface of WP7, and hope that it evolves a bit more.
WP7's approach to real-time usability is great. Apps are smooth and clean, and much less jerky than Android apps seem to be at times. The OS seems well suited to doing one thing at a time, really well. I wish Android was better at maintaining higher priority for foreground apps, instead of making things choppy with garbage-collection.
If you have a chance to wait until the January (now February) update happens, I would. Things could get much better for WP7 very soon, but who knows? I'm keeping my options open.
the biggest disappointment is in Bing and Zune services. Since their not available in Ireland. The prolonged wait for update kinda adds up too
Though otherwise than that its all ok
I had a HD2 with Android and reason why i sold it because once i played with WP7 i felt that Androids UI was so boring.
Games on WP7 are much better too than Android. Alot of devs from iPhone have hopped aboard.
Anyone else? This is good stuff! Keep it coming!
I still use my android from day to day. They se the best overall in terms of a combination of things such as features and useability. Tho WP7 has a slick UI its missing things like the gmail intergration and Google maps, but it has a music client that's not as good as iTunes. Then there is iOS, its great, easy to use, simple, and reliable, at the end of the day that's what makes IOS sell, just like variety is what makes android sell. For WP7 to catch up they need to release a groundbreaker, something that blows the competition away spec wise. I played with a Samsung WP7 At att the other day while stopping in to see an old friend, windows on a phone has came a long way since WinMo6.5. I will say that. It just depends on what u want at the end of the day
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
I think you should check this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=900747
i move to wp7, because i simple hates its lag and UI..
I've been an Android user since the G1 days and this may sound stupid, but the main reasons i switched is because Android is FAR too customizable. To some, that can be a bad thing. I found myself changing themes, layouts, icon sets, etc.. way more than i should, which took up far too much time in my day. I never really had a feeling of satisfaction with Android. Thats the first thing. The second thing is the force closures and the occasional lag (I came from a G2 so it definitely wasn't my device) Android is an awesome platform, however, I still feel like its something Google just slapped together, even if thats not the case. the third thing is its lack of consistency. like i said earlier, i customized my ROMs a lot. My home screens, icon sets, fonts, and launcher theme all were consistent. Then when you open an app (the dialer for example) its a whole different look. This may not bother some people but it bothered me quite a bit and im sure im not the only one. Im not saying WP7 is perfect because its far from that. BUT i love the consistency throughout the platform, even when you download apps from the market, most of them seem to follow that metro UI interface. the fact that its customization is limited to tile placement and color gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing that there is no other way you could have it, which means less time trying to get it the way you want it. I also love the smoothness as well. the fact that it does not support multi tasking has yet to bother me as I never really do more than one thing on my phone anyway. I am, however, frustrated with the lack of copy/paste (which will be fixed soon) and lets not forget the dreadful marketplace which locks up randomly causing users to reboot. I also am disappointed in Bing maps. i would much rather prefer to use Google maps. its just easier. The only thing i can truly say i miss from Android is the WIFI calling. I spend most of my time in my basement. I hardly get signal except for one corner. at the end of the day, i am happier with WP7 because of its simplicity, performance, and ease of use as well as its "polished" feel.
Nissan350 said:
I've been an Android user since the G1 days and this may sound stupid, but the main reasons i switched is because Android is FAR too customizable. To some, that can be a bad thing. I found myself changing themes, layouts, icon sets, etc.. way more than i should, which took up far too much time in my day.
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Click to collapse
I'm glad I am not the only one who actually finds that Android is TOO customizable. I find myself spending hours each day fiddling with it!
JWhipple said:
I'm glad I am not the only one who actually finds that Android is TOO customizable. I find myself spending hours each day fiddling with it!
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Lol, I'm glad you can see where I'm coming from
irispen said:
I think you should check this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=900747
i move to wp7, because i simple hates its lag and UI..
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Click to collapse
me same like u.been use nexus one for a year.tired about android.but maybe will switch back to android again who know..
Nissan350 said:
...the third thing is its lack of consistency. like i said earlier, i customized my ROMs a lot. My home screens, icon sets, fonts, and launcher theme all were consistent. Then when you open an app (the dialer for example) its a whole different look. This may not bother some people but it bothered me quite a bit and im sure im not the only one...
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Click to collapse
Okay, this is not directed toward you at all, but all of this sounds very familiar and it kinda explains a lot about what people's issues MIGHT be with WP7.
Everything you said is Windows Mobile all over again, and that is not a bad thing at all. I loved WM, and it's versatility IMO were what made it so great. So much about Android screams WM to me.
I come to these forums and I see people crying like little girls over and over about what WP7 doesn't do, have, etc and it just makes me feel like they want a super updated WM device. They want the absolute best of the best that WM has to offer... but they want it out of WP7. I see their issues, but this is a completely different device all together, and to ask it to be WM is kinda ignorant. So to those people I think they should run to Android and call it a day.
While I'm on this rant (and hella off-topic) I see a lot of short term memories when people start to cying about WP. It doesn't have this, and that like Android and ios. Wait a minute... everything you want, and they FINALLY have has been in WM for YEARS. None of this started with the new-booty competition. If MS didn't let me down with WM I doubt I'll be let down by WP7.. and so far I'm about as happy as I can be with a mobile device.
Once again, not directed toward you specifically, but you brought up some things that I've been thinking about.
Truer Words.
Sean D. said:
Okay, this is not directed toward you at all, but all of this sounds very familiar and it kinda explains a lot about what people's issues MIGHT be with WP7.
Everything you said is Windows Mobile all over again, and that is not a bad thing at all. I loved WM, and it's versatility IMO were what made it so great. So much about Android screams WM to me.
I come to these forums and I see people crying like little girls over and over about what WP7 doesn't do, have, etc and it just makes me feel like they want a super updated WM device. They want the absolute best of the best that WM has to offer... but they want it out of WP7. I see their issues, but this is a completely different device all together, and to ask it to be WM is kinda ignorant. So to those people I think they should run to Android and call it a day.
While I'm on this rant (and hella off-topic) I see a lot of short term memories when people start to cying about WP. It doesn't have this, and that like Android and ios. Wait a minute... everything you want, and they FINALLY have has been in WM for YEARS. None of this started with the new-booty competition. If MS didn't let me down with WM I doubt I'll be let down by WP7.. and so far I'm about as happy as I can be with a mobile device.
Once again, not directed toward you specifically, but you brought up some things that I've been thinking about.
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Good points. I'm very happy with WP7 and it feels great to be off Android. The platform is still in its infancy and there is not a doubt in my mind that it will evolve and become even better than it already is. Of course, the evolution would just be added pluses.
Nissan350 said:
I've been an Android user since the G1 days and this may sound stupid, but the main reasons i switched is because Android is FAR too customizable. To some, that can be a bad thing. I found myself changing themes, layouts, icon sets, etc.. way more than i should, which took up far too much time in my day. I never really had a feeling of satisfaction with Android. Thats the first thing. The second thing is the force closures and the occasional lag (I came from a G2 so it definitely wasn't my device) Android is an awesome platform, however, I still feel like its something Google just slapped together, even if thats not the case. the third thing is its lack of consistency. like i said earlier, i customized my ROMs a lot. My home screens, icon sets, fonts, and launcher theme all were consistent. Then when you open an app (the dialer for example) its a whole different look. This may not bother some people but it bothered me quite a bit and im sure im not the only one. Im not saying WP7 is perfect because its far from that. BUT i love the consistency throughout the platform, even when you download apps from the market, most of them seem to follow that metro UI interface. the fact that its customization is limited to tile placement and color gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing that there is no other way you could have it, which means less time trying to get it the way you want it. I also love the smoothness as well. the fact that it does not support multi tasking has yet to bother me as I never really do more than one thing on my phone anyway. I am, however, frustrated with the lack of copy/paste (which will be fixed soon) and lets not forget the dreadful marketplace which locks up randomly causing users to reboot. I also am disappointed in Bing maps. i would much rather prefer to use Google maps. its just easier. The only thing i can truly say i miss from Android is the WIFI calling. I spend most of my time in my basement. I hardly get signal except for one corner. at the end of the day, i am happier with WP7 because of its simplicity, performance, and ease of use as well as its "polished" feel.
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Click to collapse
couldnt have said it better myself
what ticked me off about android was the overall inconsistancy in both looks and performance, and until now that i own a wp7 device, i never understood by what ios and webos users said when they called it "clunky". now if i see what i saw in the honeycomb demo come in some way or form to smartphones (awesome graphical interface, ease of multitasking, and overall polish and consistantcy) i will come back in no time. but untill then, thanks to the mess that is software updates for android. the only one i would consider is a nexus device, and i dont plan on jumping through hoops to get one till i see the update and basic overhaul it needs. im perfectly happy with my hd7
JWhipple said:
Ive been seriously looking at the WP7 series and I'm curious to hear from real-world users who have been in the same boat as me. I've been an Android person for the past year now and as much as I like Android, I like to keep my options open too!
So tell me - why did YOU switch from Android to WP7 and would you do it again if you had the chance ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been using Android for almost a year now..through work I'm getting newer Android and newer WP7 devices. It started with the Desire Z (G2) and the LG Optimus Quantum.
I don't care how pretty your OS is, there's no love for that phone. It's a piece of crap regular phone loaded with a smartphone OS. Absolute trash, my SIM sat in it for a day, and sadly because of the lack of usability on the device (size, build, LG..) I couldn't give WP7 a fair chance.
However, recently got the HD7 and a certain dual core device, and I can't make a decision. I personally love customization, so Android is literally endless and fresh to me. However, I'm a huge Hotmail supporter (GMail isn't that great, there's a reason Hotmail is still number 1 webmail worldwide..) and firmly believe the Email application built into WP7 (the Hotmail one) looks better, works better, and - for me - is better than the GMail app ever will be. It looks slick, it works well, it's pretty, etc.
With the HD7, it's actually a device that can showboat the features of the OS - however, there's only like..two. Office, and these boring tiles. Yes, it's simple, yes, it's easy, if I wanted that, I'd use a laptop and a normal phone. I want complicated, I want to be able to do everything, which is why I still use Android. At the same time, there's something refreshing about WP7 and the simplicity, but I find entirely too often I go to do something, grab the HD7, find it's not available or built in, sigh, and pull out my Android device.
Another huge slam on WP7 is this micro SD bull****. I can drag and drop anything on any Android device, you're telling me it's that hard to let people use external storage?
No, because I use a Macbook (primary booting OS X) with W7, I'm forced to use W7 because there's one incredibly ****ty option for Mac syncing. I'd rather have a cluttered ass SD card with dragged files than EVER use WMP as my "media hub" or whatever. I don't use iPhoto. I use iTunes for organization, but that's it. However, if I want ANYTHING on my WP7 device, I'm forced to use these stupid Apple applications (and a beta app from Microsoft) I deleted because of massive bloat just to transfer stuff? Ridiculous. Build a frigging mount into it or let us use SD cards.
Sorry. That's a massive, massive frustration for me.
Anyways, that's my take. Android and WP7 are not on the same level. I see WP7 as a high end regular phone, and Android as an actual smartphone. I'm sure this opinion could change depending on the expansion of the OS and the Marketplace, but right now, the OS is way too young and has a serious "polished, but unfinished" feel to it. WP7 could be good and I could use it regularly..in a few years. Not now. I'm going to continue giving WP7 a try, as there are things that are impressing me.
For example, Bing Maps is definitely not as feature rich as Google Maps, but holy hell does it lock well. GMaps is only good if you can get a damn GPS lock, and people can say "oh, it's usually fine" but after a year I have to yet to see the GPS work nearly as well in any ROM or OS on Android compared to WP7, so props to them for getting that right. The Email is really nice (as a consistent Hotmail user) texting is pretty bland, the Contacts or People or whatever is totally convoluted and unnecessary, I don't know how they managed to complicate something so simple. If I wanted to see facebook, I'd open it. I just want my damn contact list. Android has perfected this as far as I'm concerned, as it's "Person --- Phone button to call" and that's all there needs to be. You can click their contact card to get more information if need be.
The marketplace needs some work, definitely needs more sections like the Android Market (Communications - Free / Paid, Whatever - Free / Paid) as opposed to just Free EVERYTHING, or mixed paid / free in sections. I definitely don't think the Android Market is perfect, but it's definitely more usable than the Windows Marketplace.
Hmm.. Internet Explorer is really nice, it works surprisingly well for a browser I haven't even looked at in almost 10 years. I was pleasantly surprised, I was dreading that I couldn't use anything else, but Microsoft did a great job. It looks nice, it's not exactly feature rich, but it's snappy, clean, and responsive.
The music / videos app is alright, nothing special but not definitely usable and looks good.
The fact that MSN Messenger was NOT included in the OS completely deadpanned me, how the hell do you forget what was at one point your bread and butter? It would literally be like Google forgetting GTalk, it wouldn't happen. I don't like the MSN application that is available has to resume every time the phone sleeps, waste of a good 10 seconds. Facebook works fine.. Phone is fine, the simplicity gets in the way of speakerphone and stuff if you forget what little tab they're under, but whatever, it works.
Calendar is GREAT, I love the way it's set up, it looks really good.
Microsoft Office is amazing...works really well.
I think I covered everything? I know I kind of went off in some areas, but just my opinions..
Oh, I miss having an actual wallpaper. I don't care if I couldn't see 90% of it, better than just black. Maybe I have a special someone I'd like to see as my wallpaper for more than the half a second it takes me to unlock my phone. Oh well.
GlitchZero said:
No, because I use a Macbook (primary booting OS X) with W7, I'm forced to use W7 because there's one incredibly ****ty option for Mac syncing. I'd rather have a cluttered ass SD card with dragged files than EVER use WMP as my "media hub" or whatever. I don't use iPhoto. I use iTunes for organization, but that's it. However, if I want ANYTHING on my WP7 device, I'm forced to use these stupid Apple applications (and a beta app from Microsoft) I deleted because of massive bloat just to transfer stuff? Ridiculous. Build a frigging mount into it or let us use SD cards.
Sorry. That's a massive, massive frustration for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Zune works well for media once you get the hang of it, and since you like your Live account so much, utilize the SkyDrive feature for cloud storage of documents. This second comment on this thread is a great idea for how to quickly access it...
http://social.answers.microsoft.com...7/thread/56adcec6-08ce-4d86-aa67-27dda1433fa0
Yes, access to the SD card would be nice. I suppose they're looking to cut down on support calls?
Android is not a phone; its a geeky toy
I bought an HTC Desire in August 2009. My HTC TyTN had just died and I couldn't wait for the late release of WP7. Android was such a disappointment. Market was unavailable in Sweden (it is open now), the UI looked disgustingly ugly and the whole experience was so much lower than descent. The only thing I really loved about Android was the notification system. I also have an iPhone so Android's notification system seemed totally like a blessing. Nevertheless Android just felt like another Google experiment. A geeky toy for Google lovers. I'm not a Google lover. Not because their products are so bad; They are bad, but I could forgive that. What I can't stand in Google is their daily bragging about their coolness all over the web while their products are actually years behind what they could really be had they cared about anything else than selling ads and hooking people onto their so called platform(s). So if I am to make a compromise on a product I am really more willing to compromise for Microsoft. Unlike newcomers like Google, Microsoft has proven over the years that they do have a vision about software and they do work on it. Google has no vision about the web other than dominance. They have a vision about advertising. My "vision" about advertising is that it is an old solution to an old problem which I'm not so sure will even exist for long in the so called "new economy". So I just sold my HTC Desire and bought an HTC HD7. I know that I will miss the WiFi tethering of my HTC Desire. Hopefully not for long. Like I said I can make a compromise for Microsoft but find it pointless to make a compromise for Google.
Android just felt cluttered to me. Yes, you can customize it as much as you want but personally I dislike the mess of widgets and icons. I was never happy with my home pages.
My phone doubles as my MP3 player and the WP7 audio playback is much better because of the HD7's sound enhancer. The sound equalizer I had on Android would only work on MP3s, not on other file types.
Pinch to zoom to WP7 is really really really good. Also the GPS on my HD7 finds my position significantly faster than my Android phone (would take several minutes to lock on). Bing maps really isn't bad so I don't know what the fuss is about. Sure there's no voice navigation, but I never used it when I had Android anyway.
Anyway my main reason for switching was that I hated being left behind while new phones are released with updates. Literally the way to upgrade with Android is to buy a new phone or root the phone. Problem with rooting is that each ROM has it's own little quirks and I didn't want to sacrifice functionality just to see a higher build number. IMO if you have to root in order to have the phone "work" then you're doing it wrong.
I do miss some things like the control panel and swype, but that's about it. So far so good.
I think from most of the posts above we can agree that WP7 is a clean functional minimal UI. And once the update comes in it will be one to brag about
ex-android user
I love android, and I still own several Android Devices, and I've been using android since the G1. Android (like many have said before me) reminds me a lot of Windows Mobile (and I loved windows mobile).
Why I made the switch:
Well, not to offend anyone, but WP7 seems to be a more mature OS, not in terms of functionality, but in terms of it's minimalist approach.
It's like comparing:
A tricked out Honda: http://www.remarkablecars.com/main/honda/tricked-out-honda.jpg
and a Cadillac CTS-V Coupe: http://photos.leftlanenews.com/phot...mbnailsnew/me-cadillac-cts-v-coupe-09_620.jpg
It's probably faster, and more elegant, but less flashy, and less customizable.
Ultimately it's a matter of preference, personally I'd chose the Caddy
Hello all, I know this will sound like a rant against the phone but in reality I just want to know if others share my opinion or if I'm alone on this one thus making the "problem" me.
I recently bought an HTC sensation 4g and I have a problem called companies customizations!
My problem with sense is that it has tons of apps that I don't need: ereader, stock; or other that I need but are bloated: weather.
It's probably a seller to see big cloud on such a great screen, but on the long run I wished it opened up immediately with the hourly forecast and less fullscreen animation to drain battery.
I heard a lot of my friends that didn't like android (mostly hated samsung or htc) and I never understood why. My nexus one with stock android wasn't the prettiest phone to look at (compared to iphone) but with some customization it was quick, usable and provided more functions than pretty graphics. But now I know! With loads of extra useless apps and their contents or awkward design choices (like the not very friendly coverflow looking thing to choose backgrounds and such). Yesterday I heard from my friend that his girlfriend galaxy s came with avatar and they had a long struggle trying to remove it from the phone sd card because they didn't care about it. When I checked the phone the avatar icon was still there since they're not very tech-savvy.
Don't get me wrong I don't hate my phone, the hardware is great, the screen is better than I expected, I love android, but that extra stuff that I really don't need should have an easy way to come off, it should not be installed in a way that I can't remove it without rooting. No wonder why people hate android... it's because they mistake android for the extra load it comes with it that slows down the phone, uses their monthly data and drains their battery. Apple doesn't do that and there's a reason "normal" people tend to pick up an iphone so quickly.
I wish there was an official way to ask companies to make all this stuff optional! Please don't think that I have it with HTC or sense, I'm referencing sense because that's what I experienced this problem with. Let me know what you think maybe if others have this issue with companies, we could organize a petition or something?
That's not android its more of a service provider and hardware supplier way of getting a cut from development companies .my Samsung had a heap of unwanted bloatware and service provider crappy useless battery consuming memory hogging apps the best thing i ever did was root this phone no more random reboots battery improved by 50% and everything on the phone is what i want on it not something that the companies think or want you to have on it .So with all that said if you have patients and can do some searching on the xda forums you will find a solution to what you want to achieve on your device .Believe me if you like it now you will love it when you get it the way you want it.
Hope that help .
I moved from iphone 4 to the SGS2.
One thing i know whatever i do to this phone it can be fully restored back to stock and the warranty will still be there providing i don't brick the phone
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Mustoura said:
That's not android its more of a service provider and hardware supplier way of getting a cut from development companies.
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He said that himself
DBBGBA said:
I love android, but that extra stuff that I really don't need should have an easy way to come off, it should not be installed in a way that I can't remove it without rooting. No wonder why people hate android... it's because they mistake android for the extra load it comes with it that slows down the phone, uses their monthly data and drains their battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could not agree more with the OP. I used Nexus 1 builds on my HD2 for about 8 months and loved it. I've now got a Samsung Galaxy S2 (I just wanted a newer, faster phone, but with the same size screen), and despite being a great phone I found myself longing for that AOSP experience. I tried a couple of AOSP ROMs in the SGS2 forum and breathed a sigh of relief at how much difference they made, but they unfortunatly aren't currently stable enough to use day-in-day-out. So I've recently gone down a different route - MIUI. I've literally only done it today, and so far I'm loving it.
Anyway, I digress. There should be some manufacturers out there that recognise this gap in the market and sell basic Android phones, with no other crap on them. I know Google do that (obviously), but I wish more did the same. People shouldn't have to know how to flash a ROM or root and freeze apps, just to get the best possible basic Android experience available.
Rant over
Point taken and yes i agree.
I missed that bit as I'm half asleep
Wow i just had a read over again i apologies that i missed that whole section lol sorry for telling you how to suck eggs
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Mustoura said:
Point taken and yes i agree.
I missed that bit as I'm half asleep
Wow i just had a read over again i apologies that i missed that whole section lol sorry for telling you how to suck eggs
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
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Heh. I have a sneaking suspicion that you're not the 1st person to comment on a post after not reading it correctly. I reckon in the history of the internet it's happened at least 3 times
Id like to see a major manufacturer do a little experiment on there next big handset.
Supply two different versions, one with there overlay and one aosp fresh from the oven, see which one sells.
I know they are only trying to add functionality to the device but they could at least write there apps properly so they dont cause wakelocks and hog resources, hell there's a whole forum full of very competent developers im sure would be happy to help
@johncmolyneux
off topic but have you tried the latest Cm7 for the SGS2? the latest nightly is pretty complete, the devs have done a stand up job. Keep it aosp baby
mynamesteve said:
@johncmolyneux
off topic but have you tried the latest Cm7 for the SGS2? the latest nightly is pretty complete, the devs have done a stand up job. Keep it aosp baby
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I've not, but I've shied away from non-standard ROMs normally. After the very favourable MIUI experience I may well give CM7 a play. I did have a sort of CM ROM on my HD2 for a while, but it looked and played pretty much like AOSP, but was blue instead of green.
Thanks for the advice
johncmolyneux said:
I've not, but I've shied away from non-standard ROMs normally. After the very favourable MIUI experience I may well give CM7 a play. I did have a sort of CM ROM on my HD2 for a while, but it looked and played pretty much like AOSP, but was blue instead of green.
Thanks for the advice
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I was the same meself tried a few out and stuck with Villain, been testing CM out occasionally to see how development is going and very impressed! if i'm not mistaken Miui is based on CM so if thats working for you its party time
the main thread with the download link is in the Q&A thread in Q&A, just so you know
Was rocking Hyperdroid Cm7 on my HD2 too so i know the feeling
I think I just officially hijacked this thread! sorry OP
That's why I have a g2x, pretty much vanilla android. But then again, just take all that crap off yourself or flash a custom rom.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
What would really be the difference in the phones if they were all AOSP? Sure they've got different hardware specs, but if all had the same hardware, it'd be nearly impossible to know the difference.
Overstew said:
What would really be the difference in the phones if they were all AOSP? Sure they've got different hardware specs, but if all had the same hardware, it'd be nearly impossible to know the difference.
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Actually, that is a very valid point. People would end up buying phones purely on colour and shape, if the hardware was close enough and they were all AOSP. I do like mynamesteve's suggestion of manufacturing 2 devices - 1 with their own software and 1 with basic Android, but I can't see anyone really doing that unfortunately. I guess there isn't really a practical solution to this. Not that I can think of, anyway.
Incidentally, I like your avatar. Homage to The King. He may be dead, but his burgers most certainly are not!
Overstew said:
What would really be the difference in the phones if they were all AOSP? Sure they've got different hardware specs, but if all had the same hardware, it'd be nearly impossible to know the difference.
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Not sure you get it Sir!
aosp = stock android = no bloatware
Standard and fast for you to add what YOU want, not have crappy coded apps forced on you that are difficult to remove.
Simples
I agree...
But I think this Operating System Fragmentation is a USA problem. Sure it happens elsewhere. The problem is the carriers use the bloatware and other specialty apps as a revenue stream. So far, Apple is changing that game and Google is doing what it can but with so many handsets and the open nature of Android it's really hard to control. I won't say anything about the closed ecosystem Apple has built vs the Android Market since both have redeeming qualities as well as flaws.
I have 3 phones on my account, all android. All were rooted on first day out of the box and had all that bloatware removed, including Inception which took up too much space on the memory card.
I wish the USA would take the approach found almost everywhere else. You pick your phone, then you pick your carrier. There's lots of great stuff going on elsewhere in the world like NFC, handsets that aren't gimped by the carrier... etc.
Just IMHO.
Cheers
johncmolyneux said:
Actually, that is a very valid point. People would end up buying phones purely on colour and shape, if the hardware was close enough and they were all AOSP. I do like mynamesteve's suggestion of manufacturing 2 devices - 1 with their own software and 1 with basic Android, but I can't see anyone really doing that unfortunately. I guess there isn't really a practical solution to this. Not that I can think of, anyway.
Incidentally, I like your avatar. Homage to The King. He may be dead, but his burgers most certainly are not!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But really deep down arn't they all just android?
I will admit the overlays draw customers, I was drawn in by sense bk in the winMO days (RIP) but other than some fancy widgets its really not much better than stock.
I understand they get paid for most of the note/ereader/Doc Dre beats headphone rubbish that gets shipped so things will most likely not change
but thank you for treasures like this website.
I know tings i.e. rooting can be daunting for the beginner but if ya follow the guides and read, ya never know you might even learn something (John this wasn't directed at you at all just peeps in general i know your a kick ass developer, i read it bk n thought wtf lol)
TLDR:read it
mynamesteve said:
But really deep down arn't they all just android?
I will admit the overlays draw customers, I was drawn in by sense bk in the winMO days (RIP) but other than some fancy widgets its really not much better than stock.
I understand they get paid for most of the note/ereader/Doc Dre beats headphone rubbish that gets shipped so things will most likely not change
but thank you for treasures like this website.
I know tings i.e. rooting can be daunting for the beginner but if ya follow the guides and read, ya never know you might even learn something (John this wasn't directed at you at all just peeps in general i know your a kick ass developer, i read it bk n thought wtf lol)
TLDR:read it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To a certain degree, yes, but the SGS2 doesn't even have the stock Android launcher available, never mind the cluster of Samsung apps that everyone seems to be freezing straight out of the box. Samsung have pretty much made it their own device, which is obviously fine, and it's still a very stock-looking experience, but just freezing apps doesn't make it AOSP unfortunately.
I think (italics because I'm not sure) that a lot of people would learn more about their device if it was a bog-standard stock Android experience from day 1. They'd try different apps and launchers etc.. I've got a friend with a Desire HD and he's never even opened the Market app. He's 0% techie, so fair enough he's not gonna undervolt and overclock the thing, but he didn't even realise he had a satnav device! I don't want to turn this into a xxx manufacturer against yyy manufacturer, but certain other devices on the market are popular because of what they can do. I think Android is being sold short by not making it obvious how far it can go. That, I believe, is partly down to having a device loaded with apps that obscure the possibilities.
Rant over
BTW, thanks for the compliment, but I'm simply a developer. This place has far more kick ass developers than me!
I have to say, if it wasn't for HTC I wouldn't have an android phone.
Tried a Nexus ROM on my HD2, really hated it. Tried the SGS2, really couldn't get on with it (nice screen though).
I can understand and respect that many people do like aosp, and I'm glad that we have the options available to us.
My stock sensation is fast and sense 3 is lovely and polished.
I really wish carriers (apparently mostly in the US) didn't take a fast phone and turn it into something reportedly sluggish though.
johncmolyneux said:
To a certain degree, yes, but the SGS2 doesn't even have the stock Android launcher available, never mind the cluster of Samsung apps that everyone seems to be freezing straight out of the box. Samsung have pretty much made it their own device, which is obviously fine, and it's still a very stock-looking experience, but just freezing apps doesn't make it AOSP unfortunately.
I think (italics because I'm not sure) that a lot of people would learn more about their device if it was a bog-standard stock Android experience from day 1. They'd try different apps and launchers etc.. I've got a friend with a Desire HD and he's never even opened the Market app. He's 0% techie, so fair enough he's not gonna undervolt and overclock the thing, but he didn't even realise he had a satnav device! I don't want to turn this into a xxx manufacturer against yyy manufacturer, but certain other devices on the market are popular because of what they can do. I think Android is being sold short by not making it obvious how far it can go. That, I believe, is partly down to having a device loaded with apps that obscure the possibilities.
Rant over
BTW, thanks for the compliment, but I'm simply a developer. This place has far more kick ass developers than me!
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Sadly no it doesnt make it aosp and as the user above pointed out theres a lot of fragmentation in android, manufactures are messing with the core of the system and not just building an overlay/launcher.
Sometimes this works sometimes this doesn't i do feel alot of the resources could be used to better the stock system, better all round compatibility, better drivers and make android better for all there users. but thats like asking for world peace, and im no CEO of a major corp so what do i know
But i know how it works in the real world, i gave my sister my HD2 and she doesnt care what Rom is on there as long as it looks nice and everything is there out the box. (cant believe i gave her the most versitile handset on the planet with that attitude but thats beside the point )
The OS ease is very important to people and i understand that for a non-tecky, i think that is also part of the reason why we cant have stock out the box, the 'mobile market' needs the icon on his device to begin with so the manufacturers try to supply that, but do it very badly.
Phew! sorry about that.
I also much prefer AOSP.
I loved sense on winmo but I absolutely detest the android equivalent.
Touchwiz is just plain vile and as jcm mentioned the SGS2 is lacking that really stable aosp experience....
Luckily though if your unhappy with your phone and need to make changes then your in the right place
No I haven't missed the op's point about wanting more customisation out of the box but I just wanted to make the point that every single resource you need to achieve whatever you want to do with your phone (within reason) is right here under your nose.
I now have a rom for my phone that is (nearly) exactly how I want it, no Touchwiz, less bloat, all the cool little tweaks that our talented devs have given us and all it took was one day of reading and a lot of trial and error...... it was fun too.
Sure I cheated and used a kitchen but hey, gotta start somewhere right.
Anyway I digress, my point is that we can all wish for HTC/samsung etc to start catering for our every need until we are blue in the face but they won't.
Sometimes you just have to roll up you're sleeves and do things for yourself.
Sent From My Fingers To Your Face.......
conantroutman said:
I now have a rom for my phone that is (nearly) exactly how I want it, no Touchwiz, less bloat, all the cool little tweaks that our talented devs have given us and all it took was one day of reading and a lot of trial and error...... it was fun too.
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Click to collapse
And are you planning on releasing this? You've had my dev work. It's only fair I have yours
johncmolyneux said:
And are you planning on releasing this? You've had my dev work. It's only fair I have yours
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Actually I very nearly did but you know how many zip file heroes there are in that section. Do we really need another?
That and I'm too lazy to update it for each new firmware that trickles out.
I think I will release one though, probably with a very tongue in cheek OP....
And yes, I and a lot of others had many, many hours of enjoyment from your work so thanks for that
Sent From My Fingers To Your Face.......