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Is flash 10.1 beta hardware accelerated?

Is flash 10.1 beta hardware accelerated? Video isn't 100% smooth, I read on engadget froyo walkthrough that hardware acceleration wasn't enable yet on their beta, but is the public beta HW accelerate enabled?

Yeah, it's not what I was expecting. Here's hoping (for Adobe's sake) that it's not hardware accelerated yet. Is there any GPU resource monitor available? Would that necessarily show you if it's accelerated?

Sites which haven't been optimized for mobile flash don't perform flawlessly but those that have been (Miniclip.com etc) work extremely well. It feels as if you're playing games locally installed

theres not any hardware acceleration to be done on the nexus. flash just uses the cpu like normal flash, hardware acceleration refers to using a gpu (something the n1 is missing)

iammuze said:
theres not any hardware acceleration to be done on the nexus. flash just uses the cpu like normal flash, hardware acceleration refers to using a gpu (something the n1 is missing)
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I love when people think they know what they're talking about.

Vash63 said:
I love when people think they know what they're talking about.
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X2. Wow. Just wow.

URPREY said:
X2. Wow. Just wow.
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+1.. that's why the ndk shouldn't have released - java uses the cpu lol

Porn on my nexus runs smooth! Large flash files aren't the quickest, but remember, this is BETA!

its still in beta, so we will see i guess. regardless its a step forward.

I think the answer is "sort of."
From the Android Flash readme:
Flash on Android supports software decoding for all the same H.264 profiles as Flash on the desktop, and uses the hardware decoder for videos using H.264 Baseline Profile and Level <= 3.2.
There are also a lot of Known issues in rendering in the readme file. My own subjective test was running Bejewled Blitz in Facebook. It ran a little better (smoother) on my nexus than with my acer aspire netbook with a 1.2 GHZ atom. This was much better than I was expecting given that it's still beta.

i find that as long as I have atleast 220mb of ram free, bangbus runs just find. the video is smooth, the audio is too but its a little out of sync at times. I once caught my browser using up 105mb of ram and the phone was running at 104 degrees too. Im running pershoots oc kernel, and it helped smooth out the flash a bit.

Nook Color vs Archos 70/101

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/24/archos-70-and-101-internet-tablet-review/
Just $49 more for cameras, kickstands, Android 2.2, less headache, and more.
What do you think? Which one is better?
Anyone used both? Or considering returning the NC for an Archos?

I was just talking about this subject with some friends.
Nook has a much better screen. A 1024x600 res IPS with great angles and crispness. The Archos 70 has a crappy 800x480 TN screen with really bad viewing angles. Screen quality in a tablet is probably most important to me. I want to be able to hold this thing any any direction at any angle and still see it, can't do that with the Archos.
The Nook feels solid... maybe a little too solid, as it is certainly heavier than the Archos 70. The Archos is reportedly very flimsy feeling. This could go either way depending on how much you value solid feeling versus weight.
The Nook has 512MB of RAM and it looks like 1GB or more of app storage space (unfortunately I didn't look at it before installing a few things). The Archos 70 has 256MB of RAM and only a measly 256MB of app storage space. Maybe the modders can fix that if they haven't yet, not sure. But that is a big downer for the Archos to me, I've already installed about 400MB of apps on my Nook in that app space.
Archos seems to have performance on it's side. It's CPU runs at the full 1GHz and it's running Android 2.2 already. My Nook feels sluggish with web browsing (using Dolphin HD), but I'm hoping the Nook update to 2.2 in January can help pep it up some. And maybe someday we'll get a 1GHz kernel.
Archos has a few extra hardware features like Bluetooth, HDMI out, better speakers, and cameras (though probably not a big loss if they are as bad as Engadget says they are).
For me the WAY better screen more than makes up for the slightly slower performance and other features the Nook doesn't have.

Connectivity. Vs. Screen quality... Pick your poison.

Ravynmagi said:
The Archos 70 has 256MB of RAM and only a measly 256MB of app storage space. Maybe the modders can fix that if they haven't yet, not sure.
...
And maybe someday we'll get a 1GHz kernel.
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Just to clarify, RAM, flash storage space, and CPU are not things that can be fixed/improved with software. These are determined by the physical chips that are soldered on to the board.
There are apps to boost CPU speed a bit, but you will start to run into stability issues if you bump it up too much above what the chip was binned at. A nice 2.2 build might improve things a bit on the NC, but the archos will likely always have an edge. Not just because of its higher clock speed, but also because it has fewer pixels to render.

candre23 said:
Just to clarify, RAM, flash storage space, and CPU are not things that can be fixed/improved with software. These are determined by the physical chips that are soldered on to the board.
There are apps to boost CPU speed a bit, but you will start to run into stability issues if you bump it up too much above what the chip was binned at. A nice 2.2 build might improve things a bit on the NC, but the archos will likely always have an edge. Not just because of its higher clock speed, but also because it has fewer pixels to render.
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Don't you mean the nk will have the slightest edge once it gets 2.2?

that all depends on what soc graphics chip the archos 70 has because the ti omap proc at 800 can go blow for blow with alot of 1ghz chips

I think most important think is amount of RAM - 256MB is just to little to get going with highend apps like Flash or games.

The Archos 70 8GB model "feels" flimsy because there is a small gap on the inside center, so this flexes. This gap I believe is from the lack of a harddrive which is in the 250GB model. It only feels flimsy when you push on this gap, however it doesn't twist or anything (strong structure), where the 250 with the drive feels like a brick.

Im dying for the update in january. Let's pray for some decent video playback the hardware is there. cmon!!
Sent from my Nook Color

candre23 said:
Just to clarify, RAM, flash storage space, and CPU are not things that can be fixed/improved with software. These are determined by the physical chips that are soldered on to the board.
There are apps to boost CPU speed a bit, but you will start to run into stability issues if you bump it up too much above what the chip was binned at. A nice 2.2 build might improve things a bit on the NC, but the archos will likely always have an edge. Not just because of its higher clock speed, but also because it has fewer pixels to render.
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I thought the Nook was using a 1GHz CPU that was underclocked to 800MHz. Maybe I'm mistaken?
Regarding the app space, that is a software issue though isn't it?. The Nook partitions what appears to be about 1GB of it's 8GB of flash space for apps. The Archos however only partitions 256MB for apps. Seems like a custom ROM on the Archos could change that up and give more space to apps, or so that is what they say on the archosfans.com forums.

Posted this reply in another thread ... worth repeating ...
While the NC supplier (B&N and it's mfg'er) have a limited track record, the record of Archos is pretty clear ... roll out products that target the 'latest trend' with software that is usually not ready and move on to the next latest thing within a very short time leaving a trail of unsupported devices. If you can live with buying a new thing from Archos every 9-12 mos and knowing support will be GONE after that then go for it.
As said the Nook may not turn out better, but it can't be worse. It has an reasonably up-to-date system now, larger memory, better viewing for it's primary mission. A70 just getting 2.2 and who know what bugs with it (seems to be bugs aplenty); A101 still not very available, what does THAT tell you?
If you want an android multimedia device then the Archos family may be a way to go, but evaluate it against multimedia devices since that is Archos' focus (assuming they have one), not reading and/or tablet functions.
Probably most people on this thread have reading as a primary, tablet second and entertainment third. The screen is really great, pdf reading is real good other than the swipe down instead of swipe sideways, with the Dolphin browser, root, su, multitouch what's not to like? ... did I mention the screen is great?

zdrifter said:
Probably most people on this thread have reading as a primary, tablet second and entertainment third. The screen is really great, pdf reading is real good other than the swipe down instead of swipe sideways, with the Dolphin browser, root, su, multitouch what's not to like? ... did I mention the screen is great?
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Lawl i bought the Nook just to Root. Ive got books on it an thats nice but since my phone died i needed a micro-mobile device so i wouldnt have to switch from tv to pc (1 button but im lazy) the Nook simply had the specs to get it done.
Only plus about archos is the BT for a phone but just the possibility of it for the Nook made it a done deal, Having the 60mb wing i know what Devs can do. The screens obviously the best part but double the ram as similar tablets is amazing, Ive loaded tons of 3D games an still have 200Mbs of ram, and the fact that you can drive to a B&N in most towns. (i hate shipping)
I think there both 7" form factor? but the sexy knock the Nooks got was also a winner
Archos is lacking ram an screen, but if a 1.3mp camera an knowing BT will work makes it up there you go.

Ravynmagi said:
I was just talking about this subject with some friends.
Nook has a much better screen. A 1024x600 res IPS with great angles and crispness. The Archos 70 has a crappy 800x480 TN screen with really bad viewing angles. Screen quality in a tablet is probably most important to me. I want to be able to hold this thing any any direction at any angle and still see it, can't do that with the Archos.
The Nook feels solid... maybe a little too solid, as it is certainly heavier than the Archos 70. The Archos is reportedly very flimsy feeling. This could go either way depending on how much you value solid feeling versus weight.
The Nook has 512MB of RAM and it looks like 1GB or more of app storage space (unfortunately I didn't look at it before installing a few things). The Archos 70 has 256MB of RAM and only a measly 256MB of app storage space. Maybe the modders can fix that if they haven't yet, not sure. But that is a big downer for the Archos to me, I've already installed about 400MB of apps on my Nook in that app space.
Archos seems to have performance on it's side. It's CPU runs at the full 1GHz and it's running Android 2.2 already. My Nook feels sluggish with web browsing (using Dolphin HD), but I'm hoping the Nook update to 2.2 in January can help pep it up some. And maybe someday we'll get a 1GHz kernel.
Archos has a few extra hardware features like Bluetooth, HDMI out, better speakers, and cameras (though probably not a big loss if they are as bad as Engadget says they are).
For me the WAY better screen more than makes up for the slightly slower performance and other features the Nook doesn't have.
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Great points here and everyone else. The low amount of RAM is a shocker, and is a dealbreaker right there. That makes me glad I don't have an Archos.
zdrifter said:
Probably most people on this thread have reading as a primary, tablet second and entertainment third.
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camwinnn said:
Lawl i bought the Nook just to Root.
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Yup, same here, I bought the Nook Color with literally zero intention of reading anything. It's a pure 100% Android browsing/gaming tablet for me
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The only thing that gives me pause about my Nook Color purchase is the lack of Bluetooth and a front facing camera. One of my main uses for this device will be watching shows/movies while doing cardio at the gym. Using a wired heaset is dangerous as one wrong move of the arm and boom, your device goes to the floor. A Bluetooth headset and watching stuff on my phone was great (and safe).
And a front facing camera would be nice for video chat. I think all tablets will have this feature in the future and ones that don't will be knocked down a notch.

B&N have already stated that an update is happening "next year", informaton about it happening in January was not true, people seriously should stop repeating this.
In addition to everything written above Archos has a resistive touchscreen which is said to be really unresponsive.

candre23 said:
There are apps to boost CPU speed a bit, but you will start to run into stability issues if you bump it up too much above what the chip was binned at. A nice 2.2 build might improve things a bit on the NC, but the archos will likely always have an edge. Not just because of its higher clock speed, but also because it has fewer pixels to render.
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The NC and the Archos Gen8s have the same cpu at different speeds. We've been able to run the NC stable up to about 1.15GHz. Froyo + JIT will go further than oc towards responsiveness.
As for bluetooth, the hardware is at least partially there. I'm still trying to figure it out, so if you know someone who's done ports to a platform with TI bluetooth send them my way.

Thanks for the information everyone, this cleared up my doubts and worries of purchasing the nc.

inferniac90 said:
B&N have already stated that an update is happening "next year", informaton about it happening in January was not true, people seriously should stop repeating this.
In addition to everything written above Archos has a resistive touchscreen which is said to be really unresponsive.
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So no update in jan?
Sent from my Nook Color

inferniac90 said:
B&N have already stated that an update is happening "next year", informaton about it happening in January was not true, people seriously should stop repeating this.
In addition to everything written above Archos has a resistive touchscreen which is said to be really unresponsive.
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Actually, the new Archos models (70 and 101) have capacitive screens.

jaydon34 said:
So no update in jan?
Sent from my Nook Color
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zdnet.com/blog/gadgetreviews/barnes-noble-confirms-android-22-update-for-nook-color-updated/20759
//not allowed to post links yet
UPDATE: Looks like that confirmation wasn’t really a confirmation after all. There will be an update, but just probably not in January. Here’s the statement from a B&N PR rep:
B&N plans to update the OS sometime in 2011. Regarding applications, we are committed to the NOOKdeveloper program and on track to add apps to our store in early 2011, but do not have plans enable Android Marketplace at this time.
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stwallman said:
Actually, the new Archos models (70 and 101) have capacitive screens.
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You're right, forgot about that, but the viewing angles are still really bad
http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/24/archos-70-and-101-internet-tablet-review/

I bought the NC over other devices for many of the reasons already stated (basically THE SCREEN), also because it has very good wifi reception. I believe I read that Archos was having issues with that.

[Q] Need advice on Nook Color purchasing

My G/F's mother works for B&N so I'm going to see if she can get a good discount on a new or refurbished unit but before I do I wanted to ask a few questions. I was thinking of getting the SGT 10.1 inch or the Moto Xoom in Wifi only flavors.
I basically want to know how the Nook color performs for games such as Angry Birds, Ninja Jump without OC'ing. I basically will use this tablet for Evernote, Pandora, Browsing, Facebook, XDA, Organizing Pictures, etc.
What do you guys think the life cycle of this device will be? If a newer update for HC comes out do you think that the current hardware may support possible feature adds (example: video editor that google built for HC).
I asked the rep in the store about the internal memory and he said it had 5GB internal and supports up to 32GB. I googled the specs and it says the Nook has 8GB. Which one is it?
Thanks.

NC has 8GB internal but only 5GB are free OOB. non-OC plays games great.

If you can get a discount on a refurb, what do you think you'll be paying? Maybe $150ish? Maybe a bit more? Let's put things in perspective and keep in mind that, though the NC is overdesigned and overpowered as a reader, it's not being sold as an alternative to the Galaxy or (most definitely) the Xoom.
Performance-wise, it holds up well against the Galaxy. The screen is better. It boots a heck of a lot faster. It's likely not going to fare as well against the Xoom. But it's a fraction of the price.
For the price and for the joy of tinkering and pushing the limits, the NC is, far and away, the best value you can get *now* -- it's even better if you can get a substantial discount. Just know that it will be outperformed by several other tablets in the coming months. I doubt there will be anything competitive, at this price level, any time soon.
Make the jump now. Come on in, the water's fine.

Yeah I'm not too worried about it competing against dual core and camera equipped tablets. I have an Evo 4G so I don't need to have those features. I just want to know the possibility to get HC running efficiently.
I think a refurbished unit should run me below $200 so it isn't too bad. Just wanted to know what you guys think of the dev community on this Nook being that so many others are coming out.

I was in a similar boat and dove right into the Nook. It's only been a few days and I'm happy I did it.
Xoom is $550 more since you don't want a contract. I debated on going with a larger tablet such as the iPad or a 10.1 inch android. Ultimately, I found that they were too large and heavy for real, everyday use. I like being able to use the Nook with one hand.
FYI, I'm using mine to take handwritten notes (using a stylus), reading pdfs, websurfing and the occasional game.

I'm in a similar boat and had 2 quick questions:
1) Hows video playback with your typical 700mb avi file with apps like vplayer or rockplayer? Has froyo or cm7 improved things?
2) What app were people using to take notes with a stylus and how well does it work?
Cheers

1) I haven't avi files - I've been using m4v files with 1300 video bitrate and 128 bit audio on Act 1. It's been a great success so far.
2) I've been using HandMemoWritter. It's free and other programs have problems losing data when you change orientation (genial writing and apMemo). HMW is a bit basic, but it works well.

Thanks Wile E Coyote.
I think I may pull the trigger on this. I have to check out the dev section for HC to see how far they have progressed.
The good thing is that the GPU is the same one they use in the Droid X.

Briefly tried vPlayer and Rockplayer and wasn't satisfied with performance. Stock video player plays H.264 encoded MP4's well as long as they conform to the resolution specs of the device (854 pixel width). I've setup a default profile for my Nook Color in Handbrake and my bluray rips to 854 pixel width H.264 videos are amazing on the nook.
I don't have much experience with android devices yet, have had the nook for 3 weeks now, but IMO for video playback nothing beats VLC on a jailbroken iOS device for the shear ability to drag and drop things onto the device and play them back with nearly complete disregard for the format they're in.
3 weeks ago I was still hoping for news on iPad 2, and wishing for a Motorola Xoom. Xoom pricing was leaked and I jumped ship for a Nook Color instead. No regrets, as at this price point I could easily give this thing away to my wife or son and get a better tablet down the road without worrying about the price I paid for it.
It's fun to drop bootable images to micro SD cards and try out different operating systems too. Once all the kinks are worked out for Froyo or HC i'll surely change the primary boot system on mine. Developers working on nook color mods are fantastic, huge props to them!

iPad2 is supposed to be announced on March 3, according to All Things Digital.
I feel so dirty.

Honestly I don't see the iPad 2 as being anything special. They'll most likely add a FFC and Rear camera and more ram.
The price is going to go up if they add a retina display.

the nook color rooted and such will be the casual mans tablet. For mobile use as a notepad its great. Lightweight easy to hold and use. Also for it being the size it is you can hold in two hands and type with out over-reaching(i am a big guy so YMMV but my long fingers...)
for gaming it works pretty well. I did get my copy of nova over on it and it works pretty well. but some games will not work not sure if its the screen size but some just fc

The video playback is pretty good for me. I run Slingplayer and PlayOn for Netflix/Hulu stuff and it is good enough. The CM7 build as it is today doesn't have hardware video support yet, so the Nookie Froyo (currently at 0.6.8) is a better option for video support. The stock nook 1.0.1 or 1.1 rooted also works pretty smoothly with video. So in short, Nooted or Nookie Froyo are the best daily driver options today, although I'm sure CM7 will be the next great thing when it gets to a more robust version.

Not to mention honeycomb
Sent from one of those missing Droids

gqstatus0685 said:
My G/F's mother works for B&N so I'm going to see if she can get a good discount on a new or refurbished unit but before I do I wanted to ask a few questions. I was thinking of getting the SGT 10.1 inch or the Moto Xoom in Wifi only flavors.
I basically want to know how the Nook color performs for games such as Angry Birds, Ninja Jump without OC'ing. I basically will use this tablet for Evernote, Pandora, Browsing, Facebook, XDA, Organizing Pictures, etc.
What do you guys think the life cycle of this device will be? If a newer update for HC comes out do you think that the current hardware may support possible feature adds (example: video editor that google built for HC).
I asked the rep in the store about the internal memory and he said it had 5GB internal and supports up to 32GB. I googled the specs and it says the Nook has 8GB. Which one is it?
Thanks.
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well right at this very moment if you want a semi stable hack to make your nook a HC tablet i suggest you get a nook but if you want something thats 100% stable and something that will work out of the box with no hackery involved i suggest you get a moto xoom
i own a nook color and i have no regrets about buying it, and i feel it has been the best thing i bought this year but it does require some work to make it a tablet(not much but its extra work none the less)

Watched an avi of "Saving Private Ryan" on the NC and ran beautifully. Earphone to listen but all in all it ran well.

skeeterpro said:
Watched an avi of "Saving Private Ryan" on the NC and ran beautifully. Earphone to listen but all in all it ran well.
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Can I ask what size and resolution the movie was formatted in, what app you were using and which ROM you're on?
Just that there are contrasting reports regarding video playback.
This is the only thing stopping me from getting one at the moment, as the Archos 101 is awesome in terms of movie playback (including live live streaming over your Wifi network from my PC).
Would love to hear people's feedback.

Apps that use gpu acceleration?

If you google android gpu acceleration, you'll see numerous threads on other sites of people asking for it and others saying there hardware is smooth enough.
I don't want to discuss the merit of gpu acceleration as I think it's a given. What I'd like to know is a list of apps that do. But also, if these apps can, why isn't it utilized system-wide? Other threads mentioned older hardware could only have one opengl layer, so if your launcher was gpu accelerated, then a game wouldn't launch. I doubt this is the issue now with more recent hardware.
Is there any side project trying to add this to say cyanogen?
Anyway, I know launcher pro is accelerated. The scrolling through applications is like night and day with other launchers. Also the latest Opera is accelerated. It seems like the built-in gallery app is accelerated. I'm not sure about any of the pdf viewers. ezpdf seems the smoothest, but again, it might be just more optimized over other pdf readers.
So is there a list of apps that utilize the gpu? (besides games obviously)
I'm not sure if it's a video driver issue from device to device, but if that's so, how can a small app like launcher pro work accelerated on numerous devices?

sark666 said:
But also, if these apps can, why isn't it utilized system-wide?
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Because a lot of Android phones can't take it.
Other threads mentioned older hardware could only have one opengl layer, so if your launcher was gpu accelerated, then a game wouldn't launch. I doubt this is the issue now with more recent hardware.
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Yeah, but Android's target is a huge range of hardware- some very crappy. Read up on Android's "fragmentation problem."
Is there any side project trying to add this to say cyanogen?
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A composite based GUI is a HUGE project. It is WAY beyond the scope of this community. It is what delayed Windows Vista for so long, and was a huge reason why many people didn't like Vista (as hardware around its launch couldn't handle the interface).
It took the Linux desktop over three years to add a decent composite GUI, and that was with MANY large companies working on it.
Composite based GUIs are VERY VERY difficult to get right. The only reason Apple has it right is from the get go that was the best part of OSX. Apple's engineers somehow got its composite GUI (called Quartz) on old low-MHz PowerPC machines, and that miracle of technology has not been duplicated anywhere else. In fact, that was the competitive advantage that Apple took with it to the phone market once phones were as powerful as old PowerPC machines.
Other OS's that use a GPU accelerated GUI just have to have very strict minimums for hardware. For example, look at the minimums for Window's phones. Any one of those would be high-end in the Android market.
I'm not sure if it's a video driver issue from device to device, but if that's so, how can a small app like launcher pro work accelerated on numerous devices?
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Run Launcher Pro on an older Android device like a Droid 1 and you would be singing a different tune as to how smooth it is. The fact of the matter is that the Android eco-system isn't ready yet....

Hmm, compiz made huge improvements quite rapidly so I don't know about 3 years to get it right. The benefits were immediate; maybe refinements as it went along.
Regardless if it is huge undertaking, google has to address this. I've read articles where they say it's more garbage collecting vs an accelerated gui. Here's a brief but good article on it: http://www.satine.org/archives/2011/01/01/the-care-and-feeding-of-the-android-gpu/
And linux is a good example, the initial beginnings of compiz were a very small group of developers and features were being added very rapidly.
It turns a lot of people off android when they see a sluggish OS, or the appearance of a sluggish OS.
At any rate, my question still stands. you mention older devices needed to being supported. Then how does an app like launcher pro do it? I'm sure it doesn't have custom drivers for all the various gpu's out there? Same with Opera.
And I'd still like a list of (if there is one) of gpu accelerated apps. If the OS doesn't have it, then it would be nice to have it at the app level. Although I see that causing more headaches down the road instead of the OS doing it.
Anyway, google doesn't sound like they are taking this issue seriously. Or dismissing it as not necessary, but I think that's a mistake. On a traditional desktop OS, it's a nice to have but not really necessary, as most things are static. But given the size of the these devices, menus/icons etc are usually moved about cascade and expand etc. Items are dragged and moved etc. All this calls for an interface that maintains a high fps or otherwise it gives the perception of feeling laggy.

Trust me...rewriting Android to do automatic compositing is a huge undertaking. This would be very difficult to do while maintaining compatibility which existing applications. Honeycomb has compositing but it isn't enabled in applications by default because it can break applications with custom drawing. I don't see any reason for us to attempt to implement composting when its already done about as well as anyone can do it in Honeycomb.

sark666 said:
Hmm, compiz made huge improvements quite rapidly so I don't know about 3 years to get it right. The benefits were immediate; maybe refinements as it went along.
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GPU GUI acceleration on the Linux desktop didn't start with Compiz. GPU GUI acceleration started in 2004 when Keith Packard added the composite patch to Xorg. David Reveman began working on XGL and Compiz around that time, and didn't release a workable beta version until 2006.
Yet that beta version relied on XGL, which was basically running the Linux desktop like you would a video game. It wasn't until AIGLX became stabilized in open source and closed source drivers in 2007 that GPU GUI acceleration on the Linux desktop was finished (I am huge Xorg junkie, that is why I know these random facts).
Regardless if it is huge undertaking, google has to address this. I've read articles where they say it's more garbage collecting vs an accelerated gui.
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From what I have heard, Honeycomb supposedly has a GPU accelerated GUI. But we don't know till we can see the code.
It turns a lot of people off android when they see a sluggish OS, or the appearance of a sluggish OS.
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I would say that the sluggishness is only obvious next to iOS- other mobile OSes also lack such abilities. Compared to iOS Android has mostly targeted the lower-end user segment where quality of experience is less important than raw price (hence the many underpowered Android phones).
Eventually due to attrition the baseline will increase in power and old phones will be cut off for new features such as this. I have already heard that Gingerbread runs terrible on a Droid 1, which is barely a two year old phone.
Then how does an app like launcher pro do it?
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Same way games do it- they just run like crap on older phones. Google can't afford to take that approach with the entire OS.
And I'd still like a list of (if there is one) of gpu accelerated apps. If the OS doesn't have it, then it would be nice to have it at the app level.
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Me too.
Anyway, google doesn't sound like they are taking this issue seriously.
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I think that is an accurate assessment. I think Google believes that in time the hardware itself wil cover this inadequacy- it matters less on dual core phones. Its all those poor people that bought early Android phones that have had to suffer the most...

I'm sure it's not trivial, but again standalone apps seemed to have done it. I know OS wide is another issue. But really, honeycomb is really late when it comes to this. It really should have been a 2.x feature. I"m the exact opposite of an apple fan boy, but the first iphone in 2007 had this. That set the bar right there. What 4 years later and google is almost on it? And yes iphone is a fixed device, but still. An abstraction layer should have been worked on so if a device has a gpu it's used, otherwise fallback to software.
And on a side note, It would still be nice to know apps that do implement this now.

sark666 said:
An abstraction layer should have been worked on so if a device has a gpu it's used, otherwise fallback to software.
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Click to collapse
I am a huge fan of this stuff (I actually had a blog about composite back in the day) and I can tell you after hacking on many devices and OSes, only ONCE have I seen a decent software-based compositor. OSX. That is it, in the whole world.
In fact, Apple's entire "magic" empire of devices is built on that unique competitive advantage. Part of what has made it work is that composite was there from day one- unlike a Linux, Windows or Android, OSX/iOS has ALWAYS had composite so applications had to work with it.
And it wasn't a painless process. Early OSX versions (until Tiger I think) all had major composite bugs (to the point I am good at spotting them). Part of Apple's advantage is that initially the OSX base was so small that it didn't matter what broke and what didn't.
So essentially it is not a 4 year gap, but is more like a 10 year advantage. All those old PowerPC Mac users paid out the nose to make modern Apple phones the pleasant experience they are.
To me the saving grace of Android is that Google allows developers to replace major parts. So maybe the entire OS will never have real GPU acceleration, but Google doesn't stop the Operas and Launcher Pros of the world to replace essential functions with apps that CAN leverage that ability. That way different parts of the OS get fixed up by those who are best at that part, and those with weaker hardware can do without.
So yeah, a list would be nice.

Well even Windows XP seems to dust Android's best. For example, browsing these very forums on my pathetic netbook is smooth but on NC it is extremely slow unless Opera Mobile is used. Even Honeycomb's browser is slow scrolling these forums. It is pretty mind blowing that in 2011 there would be 2D GUI inadequacies like this.
But the reason is as has been said: there are phones with really poor GPUs running Android. So Google basically set the bar too low in order to probably lower the cost to develop an Android device and now they don't want to break compatibility. Although I don't see why 3.0 couldn't have been more ambitious.

Not Quite A List of Android GPU Apps
GPU Acceleration will be system wide when Ice Cream Sandwich is released. I stumbled upon this thread hoping to find specific apps. I am of the Nvidia Bootcamp, so that influenced me to get a Droid X2. There are some killer apps that work perfect with GPU acceleration. I am rather surprised to find that this thread became a history lesson, much which I knew and Wikipedia could tell me.
I am using a Movie Player on Android called MX Video Player (FREE and Free Codec Download Required). It works extremely well. This app is an excellent example of quality software taking advantage of GPU acceleration, before a system wide implementation. I doubt "MX" will get better when ICS is here.
As for CyanogenMod none that I know of other than the ICS port they are cooking up. Has to do with ICS SDK API 14, that is the framework for it?
When I find more I will add to the list here, that is if I dont forget.
Oh and that snyde XP comment.... Let me know how the android gui and os is when it has had ten years in the limelight, with patches and bug fixes!

The Dar Knight Rises lagging excessively on Optimus 2X?!

The graphics are exceptional but the lag is so bad that it hinders my gameplay significantly.
I don't understand why this is happening. The game runs perfectly smooth on an ipod toucb 4th generation; sure I know that apple has a way of making their devices run apps smoothly. I also know that optimus 2x's tegra 2 gpu chipset isn't the most powerful but it's certainly not a low end GPU either. As a result coupled with a dual core processor surely it should play very smoothly, when a device like an ipod touch with its mere 1ghz can even execute it fine.

Beplexor said:
The graphics are exceptional but the lag is so bad that it hinders my gameplay significantly.
I don't understand why this is happening. The game runs perfectly smooth on an ipod toucb 4th generation; sure I know that apple has a way of making their devices run apps smoothly. I also know that optimus 2x's tegra 2 gpu chipset isn't the most powerful but it's certainly not a low end GPU either. As a result coupled with a dual core processor surely it should play very smoothly, when a device like an ipod touch with its mere 1ghz can even execute it fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which android version/rom are you using?
ICS is known for using a lot of memory. So, there is a chance that the 512Mb of our device is not enough for using the android system + game.
If you're in ICS, I suggest you to downgrade to a rock solid CM7 GB rom. (temasek's unnoficial cm7 is just AWESOME).
I am really sad to say it, but i think our device is not capable of running ICS in a heavy use profile.

I think we need hwa driver to run those new games out there smoothly
Sent from my Optimus 2X using xda premium

cool.guy said:
Which android version/rom are you using?
ICS is known for using a lot of memory. So, there is a chance that the 512Mb of our device is not enough for using the android system + game.
If you're in ICS, I suggest you to downgrade to a rock solid CM7 GB rom. (temasek's unnoficial cm7 is just AWESOME).
I am really sad to say it, but i think our device is not capable of running ICS in a heavy use profile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's depressing, because i'm currently using temasek's unofficial cm7 ROM
On a side note, based on the Play Store reviews for Dark Knight Rises it looks like high end phones like the Galaxy S2, Galaxy Nexus and even the galaxy S3 experience occasional lag. Therefore i'm not entirely giving up hope of being able to play this game...
Also you say that our device has too little RAM. Once again i'll refer to the ipod touch 4th gen. It only has 256 MB of RAM and a 1gHz processor, yet my friends have shown me how TDKR runs quite smoothly on their device. I'd like to know how this is possible.
I know about smartphones' inferior gaming quality compared to portable consoles like PSP which only have 64MB of RAM and a 222mHz processor, because PSP's are specifically designed for gaming and don't have other processes that interfere with their performance. I don't think the same analogy can apply to ipod touches and android phones, because ipods are essentially mobile devices without the texting and calling capabilities. So I REALLY can't see why our phones are incapable of playing this game.

Use ramhack to have some more RAM available, overclock your processor and use the highest OTF value for the GPU if you use the Etana Kernel. You could also kill all running processes before running the game. Just make sure to have enough RAM free for the game.
Sent from my Optimus 2X using xda premium

Just saying, PSP has 333 MHz
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app

333 mhz since 3.5 firmware.

Blazing angel said:
Just saying, PSP has 333 MHz
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's nice to know. Still frustrated about this game.

mybe is the rom problem instead of ICS laggy,
i had no issue while i m in ICS, but not with the game you mention

jackn3o said:
mybe is the rom problem instead of ICS laggy,
i had no issue while i m in ICS, but not with the game you mention
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry but I have no idea what you just said...are you suggesting that I use an ICS ROM?

Beplexor said:
That's depressing, because i'm currently using temasek's unofficial cm7 ROM
On a side note, based on the Play Store reviews for Dark Knight Rises it looks like high end phones like the Galaxy S2, Galaxy Nexus and even the galaxy S3 experience occasional lag. Therefore i'm not entirely giving up hope of being able to play this game...
Also you say that our device has too little RAM. Once again i'll refer to the ipod touch 4th gen. It only has 256 MB of RAM and a 1gHz processor, yet my friends have shown me how TDKR runs quite smoothly on their device. I'd like to know how this is possible.
I know about smartphones' inferior gaming quality compared to portable consoles like PSP which only have 64MB of RAM and a 222mHz processor, because PSP's are specifically designed for gaming and don't have other processes that interfere with their performance. I don't think the same analogy can apply to ipod touches and android phones, because ipods are essentially mobile devices without the texting and calling capabilities. So I REALLY can't see why our phones are incapable of playing this game.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That it don't work good on the O2X can only be because of 3 things.
1. The developer have made the game primary for newer phones with more power.
2. The software on your phone don't make good use of the hardware.
3. Poorly written/bad code in the game-
That it runs fine on the PSP you seem to have a good understanding for. Good thing to mention about the PSP is that the resolution is really small compared to phones now days. But you miss the similarity to the iPod? Sure the iPod runs the "same" firmware as the iPhones. Only that when it's installed to the devices it leaves out all phone stuff(things thats ALWAYS on and use RAM).
This is also a common thing that it's nothing that people can deny. Most apps runs better on iOS then their counterpart on Android. Why? Because its easier to program for iOS. Not easier in the mean of writing the code but testing it and making sure that it runs on every or at least those devices you want. Without the need of posting a minimal requirement list like on PC's. Also goes for the PSP and every other game console, maybe I didn't need to mention that.
O yea for the record don't try ICS rom it will be a waste of time since it don't have any HW-acceleration.

lintz said:
That it don't work good on the O2X can only be because of 3 things.
1. The developer have made the game primary for newer phones with more power.
2. The software on your phone don't make good use of the hardware.
3. Poorly written/bad code in the game-
That it runs fine on the PSP you seem to have a good understanding for. Good thing to mention about the PSP is that the resolution is really small compared to phones now days. But you miss the similarity to the iPod? Sure the iPod runs the "same" firmware as the iPhones. Only that when it's installed to the devices it leaves out all phone stuff(things thats ALWAYS on and use RAM).
This is also a common thing that it's nothing that people can deny. Most apps runs better on iOS then their counterpart on Android. Why? Because its easier to program for iOS. Not easier in the mean of writing the code but testing it and making sure that it runs on every or at least those devices you want. Without the need of posting a minimal requirement list like on PC's. Also goes for the PSP and every other game console, maybe I didn't need to mention that.
O yea for the record don't try ICS rom it will be a waste of time since it don't have any HW-acceleration.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see...so ipod touches don't multitask either. Well that actually makes perfect sense seeing as it's iOS.
And yeah I know about the lack of HW acceleration. LG has to release ICS officially so we can get the drivers...but the hopes of getting ICS on our phone are getting dimmer by the day especially with LG canada confirming no ICS for their phones -.-
*Edit: I'm going to be bold and deny the fact O2X is not powerful enough. I just saw 2 reviews in the newest reviews for TDKR on playstore, one using HTC One X and the other Nexus 7 both complaining about horrible constant lag. If some quad core devices experience this lag, then surely it must be the dev's problem?

Beplexor said:
I see...so ipod touches don't multitask either. Well that actually makes perfect sense seeing as it's iOS.
And yeah I know about the lack of HW acceleration. LG has to release ICS officially so we can get the drivers...but the hopes of getting ICS on our phone are getting dimmer by the day especially with LG canada confirming no ICS for their phones -.-
*Edit: I'm going to be bold and deny the fact O2X is not powerful enough. I just saw 2 reviews in the newest reviews for TDKR on playstore, one using HTC One X and the other Nexus 7 both complaining about horrible constant lag. If some quad core devices experience this lag, then surely it must be the dev's problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 3D hardware acceleration is working perfectly fine on ics. So there shouldn't be a difference between ics and gb in games. Except some that are caused by less free memory in ics.
Sent from my LG-P990 using xda app-developers app

I have CM9 Nova HD - ICS, along with Chainfire 3d with all the drivers. Still the laggy performance of TDKR.
Guess they have not made the game accordingly.
tonyp said:
The 3D hardware acceleration is working perfectly fine on ics. So there shouldn't be a difference between ics and gb in games. Except some that are caused by less free memory in ics.
Sent from my LG-P990 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse