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As the title suggests, I'm considering jumping from my HTC One to the Nokia Lumia 1020, and I have some questions. If this is the wrong forum, I'm sorry.
1. Is it possible (even through a hack) to set a homescreen background? I used to do this on the WP 7 themes on my iPhone, and it looked great with transparent tiles.
2. Has Google gotten into WP8? Voice, Gmail, Play Music?
3. Photo editing. What sort of post-processing options are there? I must have had 10gb of just photo apps on my iPhone, and I'm kinda struggling now on Android.
4. Keyboards? I've become a Swiftkey addict. Is there anything comparable to this in Redmond's garden?
5. Twitter and Facebook? My fiance has a Lumia 900, however her Facebook and Twitter apps look awful. Tweetbot was the best Twitter client I've ever used, so my standards are high.
Thank you in advance for any insight.
Start screen backgrounds are still not supported. There are pseudo-hacks to do it, using a large array of customized tiles, but there's still black or white behind them. The hacking scene or WP8 has been very limited.
Gmail works fine on WP8, as it did on WP7. There's no official app that I know of, though. Google has no official Music app for the OS, but there are plenty of third party ones (I cannot comment on the quality as I use Pandora and Zune/Xbox Music Pass). There's also Nokia's music app, which I don't use. Google Voice is similar; no official app but several third-party ones, and WP8 allows apps to integrate into the phone system and to continue calls when backgrounded (this is how Skype works).
Lots of photo editing apps, plus time-of-shot "filters". I have no idea of their quality as a PC is, and always will be, better at that task.
Sadly, custom keyboards are not currently supported at all. The built-in keyboard is excellent, with nice new features like next-word prediction, but it's not customizable or aimed at specific nich users, nor is it (yet) replaceable.
I don't use Twitter, even the integrated functionality. The new version of the Facebook app is excellent, though. It's much faster, has more features, and looks better than the old app.
GoodDayToDie said:
Start screen backgrounds are still not supported. There are pseudo-hacks to do it, using a large array of customized tiles, but there's still black or white behind them. The hacking scene or WP8 has been very limited.
Gmail works fine on WP8, as it did on WP7. There's no official app that I know of, though. Google has no official Music app for the OS, but there are plenty of third party ones (I cannot comment on the quality as I use Pandora and Zune/Xbox Music Pass). There's also Nokia's music app, which I don't use. Google Voice is similar; no official app but several third-party ones, and WP8 allows apps to integrate into the phone system and to continue calls when backgrounded (this is how Skype works).
Lots of photo editing apps, plus time-of-shot "filters". I have no idea of their quality as a PC is, and always will be, better at that task.
Sadly, custom keyboards are not currently supported at all. The built-in keyboard is excellent, with nice new features like next-word prediction, but it's not customizable or aimed at specific nich users, nor is it (yet) replaceable.
I don't use Twitter, even the integrated functionality. The new version of the Facebook app is excellent, though. It's much faster, has more features, and looks better than the old app.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the responses. With regards to music, I had a 64gb iPhone 4S and still have an active subscription to iTunes in the Cloud. So I could store most of my music on my phone, and have access to the rest as needed. My One is only 32gb, so I keep some music on it, and the rest I stream via Google Play.
As for Google, does WP8 integrate with Google Voice at all? Or is there at least an app?
With photos, there are some apps from iOS that I truely miss, and haven't seen any alternatives on Android as of yet. I fear my pickings will be even slimmer on WP8.
Does the built in keyboard have anything akin to Swype? I'm fairly certain my girls WP7 does not.
As my girl does have WP7, she can't upgrade to the newest Facebook and is thus stuck with the awful one she currently has.
Thanks again.
As I mentioned, there are apps for streaming music from Google. Nothing official, but the reviews say they work.
There's one app I can find in the store, "Spare Phone", which claims to integrate somewhat (and has the WP8-specific app capability to do so). However, it looks like it can't recieve GV calls directly (forward to your mobile number or take voicemail notifications only) when it's in the background. I'm pretty sure the dev could fix this with enough effort. The app costs $3.49 USD, so I can't easily test if for you. There's no OS-level integration with GV, which doesn't surprise me in the least. Google is Microsoft's biggest competitor in this space...
I have no real idea what the photo app situation is like. There are tons of them, some well-rated, plus some built-in features of the OS. I still prefer to do my photo editing with the power and precision of a PC, though, so I haven't tried. The photos are overcompressed as is (all smartphone photos are), so manipulating them tends to produce artifacts anyhow.
Nothing like Swype, sorry. Microsoft really needs to get with the picture there. It's especially sad/funny, considering that Swype was originally for Windows Mobile and (according to a guy I know who works there) they'd be happy to bring it to WP, but MS hasn't allowed it yet.
Most of my FB on the phone is just done using the built-in integration (People hub, Messaging hub. etc.), but the new WP8 app really is excellent.
1. No you can't set homescreen background. I hope it will be coming in WP Blue update.
2.Gmail works fine, Xbox music is very much better option.
3. WP store is full of lots of photo editing apps, 1020 itself has proshot app. I think you would be very happy in this department.
4.No, unfortunately but you can expect it in updates.
5. Both official apps are very very good. FB just got updated and it's very good. You can also have beta app which updates continuously so FB support from MS is very much active. Official twitter app has everything you want, same as its iOS & Android counter part.
Instagram has 3rd party app instance which is very good, even you can save photo in it. Official Vine app is coming till then 6 sec is available.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Google Voice is handled quite nicely by Metrotalk. It takes some work to get setup properly, but once setup works very seamlessly.
Google has no official apps (aside from a poor Google search app) on Windows Phone, and the only thing known on the horizon is an official YouTube app (a joint project between Microsoft and Google). Otherwise Google has been pretty anti-Windows Phone. If you want the quality and selection of Google apps and services that you find on an Android phone, you simply won't get it anywhere except Android. Windows Phone and even iPhone don't compare to what Google offers on it's own platform. There are third party apps, and some of them are decent.
The Twitter and Facebook apps for WP8 now very closely match the functionality and look/feel of their official counterparts on iOS and Android. They still aren't as awesome, but thankfully, because of the tight OS integration, they aren't necessarily needed as much as you would need them on iOS or Android.
Nothing close to Swype and I'm gonna take a guess and say that it won't be coming anytime soon. There just isn't a demand for it. Clearly there is one here on this site (and other enthusiast sites), but this is a site made up of hardcore tweakers and enthusiasts. In the real world, most people do not know what Swype is and simply don't bother to learn it even if it is available to them. The Windows Phone keyboard is an excellent stock keyboard, and with some of the improvements being seen in Windows 8.1, you can expect it to get better as time goes on.
Almost any kind of configuring, tweaking, or hacking you may be used to on Android goes out the window with Windows Phone 8. For the most part, the operating system just works, so you don't always need it (like iOS), but some people still have that itch to tweak, and if that's you, Windows Phone 8 may not make you happy. But then again, I used to be that type of person, but once I got used to a platform that just worked and didn't need me to go ROM hunting every week, its just became so much better. The operating system is just so much more secure than WP7 or Android, so there isn't much of a development/hacking community for it.
As with any upgrade, new line, or purchase, you should have an opportunity to try it for a bit before you go past the point of no return. So your best bet is to try it as your main driver for a week and see how it works for you.
prjkthack said:
The operating system is just so much more secure than WP7 or Android, so there isn't much of a development/hacking community for it.
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You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Security, in the context of operating systems or really anything else, is about granting or revoking authorization for access or activity. The key point, there, is "authorization". Authority is a property of ownership. However, I actually have relatively (compared to other OSes) little ability to authorize, *or* revoke authorization for, actions occurring on what is nominally my phone. So, which of the following is true?
A) It's not my phone; it's actually owned by Microsoft, the OEM, and the operator (but mostly Microsoft).
B) The OS is "so much more" locked down than WP7 or Android, and is actually pretty meager on security features.
Did you know that on some Android ROMs, you can do things like prevent apps from making using of certain capabilities while still using the app? That on WP7, you can disable the "Microsoft, may I install or run sideloaded apps?" check that the OS makes periodically without your authorization? Now *that* is an increase in security!
GoodDayToDie said:
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Security, in the context of operating systems or really anything else, is about granting or revoking authorization for access or activity. The key point, there, is "authorization". Authority is a property of ownership. However, I actually have relatively (compared to other OSes) little ability to authorize, *or* revoke authorization for, actions occurring on what is nominally my phone. So, which of the following is true?
A) It's not my phone; it's actually owned by Microsoft, the OEM, and the operator (but mostly Microsoft).
B) The OS is "so much more" locked down than WP7 or Android, and is actually pretty meager on security features.
Did you know that on some Android ROMs, you can do things like prevent apps from making using of certain capabilities while still using the app? That on WP7, you can disable the "Microsoft, may I install or run sideloaded apps?" check that the OS makes periodically without your authorization? Now *that* is an increase in security!
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Click to collapse
Whether the product is yours or not does not matter much here. At its base level, all the platforms are "locked down" to a certain extent, some more than others, and what you can do is limited by what the OEMs (Microsoft, Apple, or Google) say you can do. Now you can go ahead and throw hacks at it, tear it apart, or throw money at it to completely change it, but that's going beyond the scope of this discussion. They choose what permissions you may alter or ask for. Finding loopholes to get around permissions or authorization goes beyond what the original manufacturer intended, but its pretty fair to say that its far easier to circumvent security on Android than on any other platform. Android's inherently more "open" platform allows for greater risk at times because it isn't as locked down as iOS or Windows Phone.
That being said, being more locked down inherently offers more security or at the very least, piece of mind, whether that be protection from scripts or hacks, viruses, financial security, or just preventing errors/crashes. Denying or granting access to certain activities, or just flat out not having the option to deny/grant certain activities can be the base for a safer, more reliable, more secure operating environment. "Security" and being "locked down", in some cases, go hand in hand. Of course it can mean many different things to many people.
Now you could also be referring to other "security" features like corporate encryption policies or secure NFC or stuff like that, but that wasn't part of the original discussion, so my use of the word security does not include any of that, but I understand that certainly those types of security features may or may not exist between platforms.
So I have another question.
I've been quite spoiled by 64gb of storage on my 4S combined with iTunes in the Cloud and lately been forced to stream from Play Music due to my One only having 32gb of storage.
Does WP8 have any sort of set up where I upload my music collection to the cloud and can download/stream from there? I do have a 50gb AT&T Locker account, but I'd rather use something that's a little more polished.
OGhoul said:
So I have another question.
I've been quite spoiled by 64gb of storage on my 4S combined with iTunes in the Cloud and lately been forced to stream from Play Music due to my One only having 32gb of storage.
Does WP8 have any sort of set up where I upload my music collection to the cloud and can download/stream from there? I do have a 50gb AT&T Locker account, but I'd rather use something that's a little more polished.
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Yes, you have 7GB of skydrive space for free, can be increased for additional cost.
mcosmin222 said:
Yes, you have 7GB of skydrive space for free, can be increased for additional cost.
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I have over 60 gigs of music alone.
OGhoul said:
I have over 60 gigs of music alone.
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I doubt anybody is going to give you 60 gigs of storage for free (ATT does not count, since you pay for it anyway)
There are apps which can stream from Google Music.
Alternatively, get a phone that has a microSD slot; my ATIV S has 80GB of total local storage, never mind the amount I have in my butt.
mcosmin222 said:
I doubt anybody is going to give you 60 gigs of storage for free (ATT does not count, since you pay for it anyway)
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iCloud.
OGhoul said:
iCloud.
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so then what's the problem?
I mean, you can stream it the same way you did on your HTC one.
But unless you want that camera badly, there is no real reason to get the lumia 1020.
lumia 820 or Ativ S are probably better for you.
mcosmin222 said:
so then what's the problem?
I mean, you can stream it the same way you did on your HTC one.
But unless you want that camera badly, there is no real reason to get the lumia 1020.
lumia 820 or Ativ S are probably better for you.
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Click to collapse
The camera is the reason I'm considering a WP. Don't get me wrong, I like the Metro UI. I would usually install a Metro theme on my iPhone when I had it. I'm tremendously underwhelmed with Android and in particular, the camera in my One, which is what prompted my questions.
Basically, if I can get WP8 to do things close to as seamless as they are on iOS, I'd really consider switching. If I'm reading this correctly, SkyDrive offers automatic syncing of photos to my PC from my phone, the way iCloud does?
OGhoul said:
The camera is the reason I'm considering a WP. Don't get me wrong, I like the Metro UI. I would usually install a Metro theme on my iPhone when I had it. I'm tremendously underwhelmed with Android and in particular, the camera in my One, which is what prompted my questions.
Basically, if I can get WP8 to do things close to as seamless as they are on iOS, I'd really consider switching. If I'm reading this correctly, SkyDrive offers automatic syncing of photos to my PC from my phone, the way iCloud does?
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Yes windows phone will upload full res images to skydrive. Great feature actually. BTW have you looked at Xbox music? Its similar to Google play music and iTunes streaming. Take a look, it might be what your looking for: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/music
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Xbox music, Pandora, Nokia Music all work great on my 1020. And something new in WP8, it can sync from your iTunes library. (new WP8 desktop app, no more Zune app like used for WP7)
Did you ever get the 1020 and what were your thoughts?
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 4
Looking at the Nokia 640 on metro PCs , what are you guys opinions on this phone?I had a Nokia 521 quiet awhile back but switched to android because of the lack of SD card use back then.
I can't speak to MetroPCS as a carrier, but the 640 is a great phone for its price. The biggest problem with it is the same problem every WP device will have - there aren't as many apps available for the platform as there are for Android and iOS (although there are a bunch nonetheless, and more every day) - but the phone itself is quite good unless you need high-end specs for some reason. The OS runs very smoothly on it. Also, it's upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile (yes, Microsoft changed the branding on their phone OS *again*...), so you've got a reasonably future-proof design and it'll even be able to run at least some Android apps in the future.
In my opinion windows phones are always better and safe than android phones. You can also read about technology public relations.
Play Apps?
GoodDayToDie said:
I can't speak to MetroPCS as a carrier, but the 640 is a great phone for its price. The biggest problem with it is the same problem every WP device will have - there aren't as many apps available for the platform as there are for Android and iOS (although there are a bunch nonetheless, and more every day) - but the phone itself is quite good unless you need high-end specs for some reason. The OS runs very smoothly on it. Also, it's upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile (yes, Microsoft changed the branding on their phone OS *again*...), so you've got a reasonably future-proof design and it'll even be able to run at least some Android apps in the future.
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Click to collapse
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
Metalbuddhist said:
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
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Click to collapse
They will not enable android apps to run directly on the phone like in an emulator, they developed a tool so android developers can recompile their existing app code so it can be used in windows, see the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qgajY4An1I
I'm really looking forward to making the switch from Android. I've always been a Windows PC enthusiast, and Windows 10 is shaping up nicely.
So, a phone to match will be nice. As for apps for phones, I hardly use any nowadays.
The biggest disadvantage of WP is the low market share of under 10% .
This means that most of the useful apps or games will not be available to WP.
But if as you say you dont use apps and you like the windows style you should go for it!
My experience switching over
I picked up a 640 on T-Mobile the other day as a new "daily driver" - my S4 went swimming once upon a time and reception was never quite the same after that, and I've been thinking about app development and the possible advantages of being a bigger fish in a smaller pond - particularly if MS manages to be successful going forward with Windows Phone. I'm sure I won't have anything available by the time Windows 10 Mobile comes out, so I'm not sure how that's going to work out in the end - perhaps Android development would be a better choice after all? But my experience with the phone overall hasn't been bad so far, particularly not for $100.
The one thing that I hate about the phone is that I can't put it on WiFi at home - something about the WiFi config puts it into a boot loop when it tries to kick in the voice over WiFi piece. Seems like it's similar to the "no iOS zone" problem that turned up for Apple back in April, except that since (relatively) nobody is using Windows Phone nobody really cares. The "fix" recommended is "reset your router to factory defaults" which might be an issue since I'm running OpenWRT..... I'm thinking about putting the Windows 10 preview on so this may go away - even if it's only due to lack of support for T-Mobile's WiFi calling. At least I have LTE coverage in most of my house and an "unlimited" data plan.
The main thing I'm really missing is browser choice - I REALLY miss having Firefox and Dolphin, because I do a lot of long-form reading in my browser and the readability view in FF is much more usable. LastPass in Dolphin is also nice to have, though it never worked for me in Firefox. I'm also missing the addon ecosystems of both browsers. Surfy is at least a nice addition, but browsers on WP seem to be at least 2-3 years behind what's on Android. Both IE and Surfy "feel" kind of like the built-in browser in Gingerbread (2.3) or maybe in the early days of Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) before Google started pushing Chrome as the default browser. Having relatively weak browser(s) is a problem because with the lack of apps at least I can use mobile websites..... when they don't simply crash out the IE tab/window/whatever since it's not a tabbed or windowed interface.
I'm also hoping that Pocket Casts will work correctly for me after their next update (currently it hangs if I turn on sync to pull in my podcasts, then dies on app startup), but I'll survive for a while. I'm also feeling the lack of good ebook readers, I've been spoiled by Cool Reader and Moon+ Reader Pro on the Android side.
The only things besides browsers that I'm really missing:
Things tied in with Google's ecosystem - I use Google Voice for my voicemail, I've been using Location History for a long time to help me track when I arrive at and leave customer locations, and there's a group of us that uses Google Hangouts for group chat. I can get Voice notifications in email with the transcriptions then listen to the messages via URL. The Location History bit I may be able to replace with Phone Tracker, but I'm not sure what to do about Hangouts yet.
Replacement keyboards! I've been a big Swiftkey user for years and would love to have it back even without the voice recognition link (which launches Google's service). I hate having to do 4-6 extra keystrokes to enter passwords because of the switches to get to numbers/punctuation and extended punctuation (via the numbers page). There are places where Hacker's Keyboard (a much more full keyboard nice for terminal emulations) was also nice to have.
A GOOD text editor (e.g. DroidEdit which has syntax highlighting, etc.) or really even an adequate text editor. Maybe a mediocre one? Please? I've seen mention of Code Editor but was unimpressed by the "Free" version (first thing it does is throw you to the store page for the paid version, free version can't even see the "advanced" editor that's the only reason to actually consider it). The only other option that at least looks good in screenshots ("HTML+JS+CSS IDE") hasn't been updated since 2013 and has a total of 3 reviews - and the two with text are both 1-star.
CallTrack (which adds all of my phone calls to my Google Calendar, tagged appropriately and with start and end times) and SMS Backup (which uploads my sent/received SMS to GMail, tagged appropriately). CallTrack is great for going back and "Who did I talk to that day?" and SMS Backup is great for tracking down things received in old messages. I WILL be working on finding replacements for these.
And a few less-important things that I can either do without or still need to find replacements for:
My auto mileage/service tracking app - if there's something comparable to aCar then I haven't seen it yet.
OpenVPN, though the VPN service I use allows IPSEC as well so I'll need to set that up.
Lyft, though I've not actually needed to use it. I know Uber's on there, I just like what I know of Lyft better (and there's one area where my wife may need it that's on the edge of the areas for both but Lyft covers it and Uber doesn't).
KeePass - I believe I saw one implementation in the Store, but I'd want to check into the background of it given the number of scam apps I've come across.
@fencepost: Good list of stuff, there. I don't really have a good solution to much of it - I mean, Microsoft has alternatives to a lot of Google's stuff, but they are mutually incompatible so everybody you hang out with would need to switch too - but those are some good problems to list. The problem with WiFi calling is probably a T-Mobile bug, sadly; I don't have it myself but WiFi Calling on WP8.x isn't really as good as it could be. My biggest personal complaint with WiFi is that the OS is too damn desperate to stay on (unusably weak) WiFi signals even when it has cellular data; if I'm actively using my phone when I leave the apartment (for example, checking a bus schedule) it's faster to manually disable WiFi than to rely on the phone to notice that the WiFi signal is much too weak to use and fail over to cellular. Ideally I'd be able to tell the phone to use cellular by *default* and only use WiFi for stuff that it can't get ont he WAN (LAN servers, etc.), but the OS wasn't really designed to provide an optimal experience for people with unlimited data plans.
The custom keyboard thing may be fixable soon - at least, I really hope so - but for now it is indeed a problem. WP8.1 has the best *built-in* keyboard of the three leading mobile OSes, IMO, but it's not better than all the Android options.
As for a text editor, I generally avoid writing anything longer than notes or minor document edits (or emails, but usually only plain text) on the phone, so I haven't really looked. You might be able to use SSH or Remote Desktop, though; there's a number of decent apps for each (including a MS-authored one for RDP) and with unlimited data they should work. You may even find them more useful than a local editor. It might be worth setting up a Remote App server (so you'd *just* get an editor, rather than a whole desktop) for this.
OpenVPN *should* be possible to port, but it needs a driver (TUN/TAP) and MS would need to approve or provide that even more than they would need to approve a new VPN app (which I think requires a capability not normally available to third-party devs). I'm tempted to say that they really *should* allow it, but I'm also painfully aware that OpenVPN on Windows (and, possibly, other platforms) is sort of crap. I can usually beat it into submission on a machine where I have admin, but on a phone it could simply just sit there being unusable until the phone gets rebooted or something.
WP8 in general seems to have a lower risk of scam apps than Android, but it's definitely a good idea to look into any password keeper utility's trustworthiness.
EDIT: As for browsers, as far as I know there's not actually any rule against third-party browsers. Opera Mini does exist for WP8, which is cool, but so far as I know nobody has ported a Gecko or WebKit/Blink-based browser. Ideally, somebody should fix this, although getting them to work within WP8's application model might mean rebuilding a lot of the browser as well as just porting the rendering engine.
Metalbuddhist said:
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
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Click to collapse
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Let ms make a toolkit for the android devs
A toolkit to one click port it to MS ecosystem
Then the threshold to port it would be lower and a real mony maker for the devs
Sent from my C6603 using XDA Free mobile app
NightOrchid said:
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want Android apps as such, but Android and IOS devs in the wp game.
I've had a lot of Apple and Andy devices the last eight years and have grown to like the variety of developers and want they put out for us.
WP is a good ecosystem, but the app gap is way bigger than I expected. There are just to many everyday apps I had on my other phones, which I cannot get in WP (yet).
I feel like I've walked into a grossery store and most of the shelfes are empty... I have to buy my oj and milk in another store, simply because MS can't get those dev's on board.
...And that's just a crying shame.
The 640 has a baked in WiFi calling feature rather than a separate app like almost every other Lumia device. I think it may be the only Lumia to have Wi-Fi calling baked into the SIM settings rather than running as a separate app.
Be careful if you are using any Google apps with it - Google is scared of Windows phone and they are doing everything they can to prevent app development. Any app they have taken over will never see another Windows phone release, and they are kind of crazy about it. For example Microsoft made their own YouTube app because Google wouldn't ,Google forced them to take it down. Now the YouTube app on the WP is just a link to YouTube - not because no one wants to make one for WP, but because Google won't let anyone make one.
---------- Post added at 08:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------
I should add though - I have the 640 and it's awesome, extremely fast, well built, solid screen, expandable SD card slot, decent cameras for a phone and an ok flash. It's also neat the way the apps tie together with your windows 10 computer
NightOrchid said:
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried both Windows as well as Android Phone but everyone will agree that Android is anytime the best coz of features or benefits it has to offer. I used to be a Windows Mobile fan but now I love Android.
I would not switch to Windows again for now atleast
Hi,
I would like to use the Android Mini as a terminal for our school library. However, kids using the terminal may just install software from the Play store or from other sources (just share it from their own devices will already work). They can also play loads of games on the mini.
How can I restrict this? I tried using app blockers downloaded from the play store but I think because of the Mini's multitasking capabilities, it is possible to easily disable the app blockers simply by pressing ESC. Can I do this without rooting (I am not experienced in rooting and prefer if the solution did not need to open up my mini)
Thanks a lot
webmiester
webmiester said:
Hi,
I would like to use the Android Mini as a terminal for our school library. However, kids using the terminal may just install software from the Play store or from other sources (just share it from their own devices will already work). They can also play loads of games on the mini.
How can I restrict this? I tried using app blockers downloaded from the play store but I think because of the Mini's multitasking capabilities, it is possible to easily disable the app blockers simply by pressing ESC. Can I do this without rooting (I am not experienced in rooting and prefer if the solution did not need to open up my mini)
Thanks a lot
webmiester
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I work with Remix as a Ambassador I will post this to the board and see if I can get you a answer for your issue. Will be in touch ASAP.
webmiester said:
Hi,
I would like to use the Android Mini as a terminal for our school library. However, kids using the terminal may just install software from the Play store or from other sources (just share it from their own devices will already work). They can also play loads of games on the mini.
How can I restrict this? I tried using app blockers downloaded from the play store but I think because of the Mini's multitasking capabilities, it is possible to easily disable the app blockers simply by pressing ESC. Can I do this without rooting (I am not experienced in rooting and prefer if the solution did not need to open up my mini)
Thanks a lot
webmiester
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
heh no the mini in the current state is not good for education (root need soldering),you should try cloud ready the Chrome os distribution for pc,they are fond of chromebooks in education I think
tailslol said:
heh no the mini in the current state is not good for education (root need soldering),you should try cloud ready the Chrome os distribution for pc,they are fond of chromebooks in education I think
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you Taillol for your suggestion of using Chromebooks. Chromebooks are currently not in my mind as one of the viable solutions though. I heard that most applications of Chrome are dependent on the internet. What I like with Android is that it has enough applications which can load locally like office apps and paint programs. So in this case, I can free up bandwidth if the user decides to use any app found in its memory.
Android also has applications which are very similar or almost identical to their windows and Linux and Mac desktop counterparts. For instance, I plan to use the android version of textmaker HD for the android boxes while using either the linux or windows versions for the offices using PC (or even use the remix x86). In this way, the applications will look the same in whatever machine they will use. Although google office is also available in all these platforms including chrome, I dont want to get a subscription for business.
wastate2014 said:
I work with Remix as a Ambassador I will post this to the board and see if I can get you a answer for your issue. Will be in touch ASAP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much Wastemeter2014. I was hoping to come up with some sort of solution soon as I was planning to buy the Remix mini units already this week. Ill have to wait for your reply.
Sorry for the delay, Tailslol is a member of the same Ambassador team. I have forwarded your request to the engineering team. I have a few ideas I will try today but the current OS has limited options in which to lock it down to the extent you are looking for. That being said, please allow me a little further time to consult further I havn't forgotten you.
webmiester said:
Thank you Taillol for your suggestion of using Chromebooks. Chromebooks are currently not in my mind as one of the viable solutions though. I heard that most applications of Chrome are dependent on the internet. What I like with Android is that it has enough applications which can load locally like office apps and paint programs. So in this case, I can free up bandwidth if the user decides to use any app found in its memory.
Android also has applications which are very similar or almost identical to their windows and Linux and Mac desktop counterparts. For instance, I plan to use the android version of textmaker HD for the android boxes while using either the linux or windows versions for the offices using PC (or even use the remix x86). In this way, the applications will look the same in whatever machine they will use. Although google office is also available in all these platforms including chrome, I dont want to get a subscription for business.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i am an ambassador too.
And we are looking for a solution internally.
Current version of the mini lack of tools for this kind of use.
I was suggesting Chromebooks mostly because they have Google adminstrative tools and recent ones have access to Android play store.
tailslol said:
Yes i am an ambassador too.
And we are looking for a solution internally.
Current version of the mini lack of tools for this kind of use.
I was suggesting Chromebooks mostly because they have Google administrative tools and recent ones have access to Android play store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would agree that chrome would be better suited at this point. The parental tools on Google Play I looked at today still would not lock it down the way you would like. The software engineers have your request.
First, I really appreciate the interest you've shown. I've been talking to the developers and here's the latest.
To fulfill the needs of your scenario, there is development work that we need to do. To that end, there is good news and bad news.
The bad news is, we haven't had the resources and time to develop it yet, so the Mini or any Remix OS product right now can't claim to support Mobile Device Management or any type of kiosk mode fully.
However, the good news is that two weeks ago, we started the ball rolling on this development. The timing is unclear, but we are aiming for the end of Q1 or early Q2 2017 with the releases for Remix IO and Remix IO+. This development should also provide Minis with administrative rights and management ability.
I'd hope that you do stay in touch and when we have it done, we'll update you then.
Thanks!
webmiester said:
Hi,
I would like to use the Android Mini as a terminal for our school library. However, kids using the terminal may just install software from the Play store or from other sources (just share it from their own devices will already work). They can also play loads of games on the mini.
How can I restrict this? I tried using app blockers downloaded from the play store but I think because of the Mini's multitasking capabilities, it is possible to easily disable the app blockers simply by pressing ESC. Can I do this without rooting (I am not experienced in rooting and prefer if the solution did not need to open up my mini)
Thanks a lot
webmiester
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RemixOS_Jason said:
First, I really appreciate the interest you've shown. I've been talking to the developers and here's the latest.
To fulfill the needs of your scenario, there is development work that we need to do. To that end, there is good news and bad news.
The bad news is, we haven't had the resources and time to develop it yet, so the Mini or any Remix OS product right now can't claim to support Mobile Device Management or any type of kiosk mode fully.
However, the good news is that two weeks ago, we started the ball rolling on this development. The timing is unclear, but we are aiming for the end of Q1 or early Q2 2017 with the releases for Remix IO and Remix IO+. This development should also provide Minis with administrative rights and management ability.
I'd hope that you do stay in touch and when we have it done, we'll update you then.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much.
I downloaded the x86 version of the Remix and installed it on a PC. I noticed that the PC version gave options on bootup. One of them was a "guest mode". From the description it says that "Guest Mode" cannot save anything. Does this include the inability to install apps? The Guest Mode sounds like it can work, but I wasn't able to explore the PC version so extensively.
If so, maybe we can have a "guest mode" for the Remix mini too then simply password protect the "Resident mode" so students wont simply reboot and choose "Resident Mode" on reboot. If the guest mode already exists for the x86 version, then I suppose the code for this type of admin control is already available. Thanks.
webmiester said:
Thanks so much.
I downloaded the x86 version of the Remix and installed it on a PC. I noticed that the PC version gave options on bootup. One of them was a "guest mode". From the description it says that "Guest Mode" cannot save anything. Does this include the inability to install apps? The Guest Mode sounds like it can work, but I wasn't able to explore the PC version so extensively.
If so, maybe we can have a "guest mode" for the Remix mini too then simply password protect the "Resident mode" so students wont simply reboot and choose "Resident Mode" on reboot. If the guest mode already exists for the x86 version, then I suppose the code for this type of admin control is already available. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can install app but not large ones due to the limitation of ram and usb drive size and none will stay when the computer reboot. account information will not stay too.
Hello,
I am interested in the Mi 9 and want to buy it.
The bad news is, that Lineage just started to support the Mi 8 version, so Mi 9 support will take 1 year, too maybe.
I read all threads here, but I dont see any users who are interested in a ROM without Google.
Can someone tell me if there are other ROMs without Google which will maybe support the Mi 9 in the future?
And one question to the Google users: Why do you use ROMs with Google?
Thanks!
hi!
Room without google is chinese MIUI
I personally use google ROMs, as I use some of their services, mail, calendar, youtube to name a few
Well, the device came out two weeks ago and - not as usually Xiaomi do - has already the sources out too (usually they come out around 6 months later)!
So, a ROM like Lineage (unofficial) will probably come from the dev community very soon when someone with the right skills will invest some of his/her time (and then we will have to thank that person massively ).
Anyway if you ahve already the bootloader unlocked, you can try with some of the Treble ROMs (https://forum.xda-developers.com/project-treble)... It can be that some of them works already, even if with some bugs If I remember right phhusson bought a Mi9 too (am I wrong?)! So probably Phh-Treble ROM should sooner or later work for the Mi9
P.S. MIUI China is without Google but with so much more bloat
P.P.S. Well, I like Android for its integration with the Google ecosystem that I use widely in my real life (like probably most of the users... Gmail, Maps, Calendar, Youtube, etc...). If probably I wouldn't have needed it, I would have look to some of the other (few) OS alternatives in the market
mr-mauro said:
Well, the device came out two weeks ago and - not as usually Xiaomi do - has already the sources out too (usually they come out around 6 months later)!
So, a ROM like Lineage (unofficial) will probably come from the dev community very soon when someone with the right skills will invest some of his/her time (and that then we will need to thank massively ).
Anyway if you ahve already the bootloader unlocked and you can even try with some of the Treble ROMs (https://forum.xda-developers.com/project-treble)... It can be that some of the works already even if with some bugs If I remember right phhusson bought a Mi9 (am I wrong?) so probably Phh-Treble ROM should sooner or later work for sure on Mi9
P.S. MIUI China is without Google but with so much more bloat
P.P.S. Well, I like Android for its integration with the Google ecosystem that I use widely in my real life (like probably most of the users... Gmail, Maps, Calendar, Youtube, etc...). If probably I wouldn't have needed it, I would have look to some of the other (few) OS alternatives in the market
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your answer, very helpful.
Why use a ROM with Google services in it?
Because Gmail is one of the better free email services out there. Google Music is far better than Spotify. Games saves my progress when I change to a new phone. Contact sync is extremely easy when it is saved to your gmail anyway. Play Store is the best app store on Android by far. Google's customized news feed lets me stay updated on things far easier than visiting other sites individually or manually setting up new feeds with third party apps that also take your data anyway. Google Photos+Drive is a great way to easily and automatically save your photos and sync them to new phones and without even taking up extra space on your new phone because they are really still in the cloud. Calendar is fine simply because it comes with the rest of the apps and dont have to bother with going and finding a third party app.
EniGmA1987 said:
Why use a ROM with Google services in it?
Because Gmail is one of the better free email services out there. Google Music is far better than Spotify. Games saves my progress when I change to a new phone. Contact sync is extremely easy when it is saved to your gmail anyway. Play Store is the best app store on Android by far. Google's customized news feed lets me stay updated on things far easier than visiting other sites individually or manually setting up new feeds with third party apps that also take your data anyway. Google Photos+Drive is a great way to easily and automatically save your photos and sync them to new phones and without even taking up extra space on your new phone because they are really still in the cloud. Calendar is fine simply because it comes with the rest of the apps and dont have to bother with going and finding a third party app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You forget one thing: It is Google.
I understand people who want to use Google, because they are rich and enough capacities to develope the best UIs.
I understand that some of you don't care about the data you leaves - but please don't forget that a monopoly is not good in any case, and we are talking about a monopoly with huge financial interest.
And yes, Google services are very good, but just the UI. The thing behind is just bad - they are a way better alternative services.
Keep in mind, that there are so many Android phones and on most of them is running a Google service, a monopoly with financial interest.
It is your decision if you stay with Google or not. But someone who care about the future and about his data should go away from Google.
xeDroidz said:
You forget one thing: It is Google.
I understand people who want to use Google, because they are rich and enough capacities to develope the best UIs.
I understand that some of you don't care about the data you leaves - but please don't forget that a monopoly is not good in any case, and we are talking about a monopoly with huge financial interest.
And yes, Google services are very good, but just the UI. The thing behind is just bad - they are a way better alternative services.
Keep in mind, that there are so many Android phones and on most of them is running a Google service, a monopoly with financial interest.
It is your decision if you stay with Google or not. But someone who care about the future and about his data should go away from Google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol. So you can give your data instead to all the other 3rd party companies who want to eak out every Dollar they can since they have so fewer users? Nothing is different except Google, Apple, MS, Amazon has to maintain far more responsibility. By handing your data to unknown persons from various smaller companies you have no idea whether your data is being used responsibly or not or even if it is safegaurded well (which it isnt). At least with Google or Apple you know exactly what it is used for and where it is stored (which in the case of Apple, it is stored with Google anyway).
EniGmA1987 said:
lol. So you can give your data instead to all the other 3rd party companies who want to eak out every Dollar they can since they have so fewer users? Nothing is different except Google, Apple, MS, Amazon has to maintain far more responsibility. By handing your data to unknown persons from various smaller companies you have no idea whether your data is being used responsibly or not or even if it is safegaurded well (which it isnt). At least with Google or Apple you know exactly what it is used for and where it is stored (which in the case of Apple, it is stored with Google anyway).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GMail is not open source for example. Why should I trust a closed source more then a open source service?
And I prefer services where I pay with my money and not with my data. And the monopoly fact is still there.
I know it is not easy to prevent all data leaks, but it is possible to 99%.
At the moment it is not easy, because there are so much money interested companys, which will collect your data.
For example: Why do you use WhatsApp, when you are using eMail? This make no sense, because eMail is decentral and WhatsApp not.
So you suceed to use a decentral message service like eMail, but failed to do the same with your IM.
The french goverment understand this, thats why they switched to an good new IM open source protocol.
But is is your decision. You need to understand the whole thing. I can't decide it for you.
If you want you can send me your browser history via PM, thank you.
xeDroidz said:
But someone who care about the future and about his data should go away from Google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then you shouldn't be using a Xiaomi phone with MIUI, read their Privacy Policy. Miui even has you accept different
privacy policies and user agreements for different BUILT-IN apps. It's ridiculous.
More on point; mostly every android based custom ROMs have you install Open GApps to use Google functions,
so simply don't do this. When setting up your device don't sign in with a google account. Then root your phone and
strip any leftover (if any, I'm not sure) packages from your device. I think this is the most non-Google you will get.
LineageOS would be the go-to ROM for you (and me).
Here is some more info for you: link
The Dutchman said:
Then you shouldn't be using a Xiaomi phone with MIUI, read their Privacy Policy. Miui even has you accept different
privacy policies and user agreements for different BUILT-IN apps. It's ridiculous.
More on point; mostly every android based custom ROMs have you install Open GApps to use Google functions,
so simply don't do this. When setting up your device don't sign in with a google account. Then root your phone and
strip any leftover (if any, I'm not sure) packages from your device. I think this is the most non-Google you will get.
LineageOS would be the go-to ROM for you (and me).
Here is some more info for you: link
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your answer.
Which ROM do you use atm? There is not Lineage Support for the Mi 9 atm.
I have same. I dont want Google framework and services in my phone when Android is open source system. Its very difficult have good translated rom with MIUI and havent Google. I testing remove Google from MIUI.EU rom long time but all my tests failed and China rom is bad for losing translations, have bloatware and more.
I'm interested too, I've long dreamed of a Roma without Google services as it was not enough they also added covid-19 if you find a solution let me know, thanks.
So the last (?) PlayStore access app for Android 2.1 bites the dust, apparently. The Search function died sometime last month and now log-in is impossible. The most recent version, 0.46, was done at the beginning of 2019. Word has it that the developer has abandoned the project.
Is there an alternative?
---------- Post added at 10:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:40 PM ----------
nmyshkin said:
So the last (?) PlayStore access app for Android 2.1 bites the dust, apparently. The Search function died sometime last month and now log-in is impossible. The most recent version, 0.46, was done at the beginning of 2019. Word has it that the developer has abandoned the project.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just installed Yalp Store fork from F-Droid.
Even ist says it's. Not compatible with my device, the app works perfect with yalp store built-in credentials.
XtraWater said:
Is there an alternative?
---------- Post added at 10:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:40 PM ----------
I just installed Yalp Store fork from F-Droid.
Even ist says it's. Not compatible with my device, the app works perfect with yalp store built-in credentials.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming this is what you are referring to: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.kiliakin.yalpstore/
I cannot at this time confirm your experience. I have been unable to successfully log in with this new forked version.
nmyshkin said:
Assuming this is what you are referring to: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.kiliakin.yalpstore/
I cannot at this time confirm your experience. I have been unable to successfully log in with this new forked version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Choose another device.
XtraWater said:
Choose another device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mmm...you might have saved me some time by telling me which one worked for you. I eventually found that choosing HTC Desire would allow a log-in, but this raises other issues. Originally the Yalp Store would filter out apps that were not for Eclair (or at least list them as "incompatible"). This does not happen if you are spoofing another device that is running who knows what version of Android.
Also, Search is broken. It reverts to a search of the device (Library and Shops) rather than the PlayStore. Not helpful.
Finally, although you can use the "category" option to look at apps (with no idea which might actually be compatible...), you cannot download anything. At least I couldn't. I got an error each time I tried.
So....a lot of work for the new developer to make this functional for the NST. For a lark I installed the last version of the original Yalp Store on my Tablet running 8.1 and was surprised to see that it actually worked without any funny business. So whatever happened to it seems to have affected legacy devices, but not more current OSes.
nmyshkin said:
Mmm...you might have saved me some time by telling me which one worked for you. I eventually found that choosing HTC Desire would allow a log-in, but this raises other issues. Originally the Yalp Store would filter out apps that were not for Eclair (or at least list them as "incompatible"). This does not happen if you are spoofing another device that is running who knows what version of Android.
Also, Search is broken. It reverts to a search of the device (Library and Shops) rather than the PlayStore. Not helpful.
Finally, although you can use the "category" option to look at apps (with no idea which might actually be compatible...), you cannot download anything. At least I couldn't. I got an error each time I tried.
So....a lot of work for the new developer to make this functional for the NST. For a lark I installed the last version of the original Yalp Store on my Tablet running 8.1 and was surprised to see that it actually worked without any funny business. So whatever happened to it seems to have affected legacy devices, but not more current OSes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used galaxy 7 edge. However, can't login anymore today at all.
Including Aurora store not able to log in.
I guess this is a war against Huawei that might eventually lead to the death of aosp at least for gapps people. Imagine gapps flashing on top of clean aosp becoming useless as none of these apps would not be able to log in etc
darfri said:
Including Aurora store not able to log in.
I guess this is a war against Huawei that might eventually lead to the death of aosp at least for gapps people. Imagine gapps flashing on top of clean aosp becoming useless as none of these apps would not be able to log in etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want to speak out of turn because I could not do the sort of programming required for these efforts. However, I do run the 8 gb version of the Nook Tablet using the microG project components. It works very well including maps, and uses so few resources you can even use the actual Playstore app instead of one of the other apps which seem to be either abandoned or in need of repair. Unfortunately, KitKat is the lower limit for microG, but it sure makes a difference, especially on a device struggling with memory issues.
At least F-droid have in descriptions of application requirements that state minimal version of Android it can be run from on my tablet it is so. I hope that is also the case with f-droid run from NST. If I had to choose device name for spoofing purposes on that YALP application my bet would be some of the phones running Eclair. Last were some Motorola phones from 2015 as far as I recall. Since on my NST social and even shop stopped working properly I am more and more leaning to go through the road taken by many and ditch original software and start tweaking and tinkering with the device. Eclair is so old that I do not know is there many application left to work with but in case this thread escaped attention I will leave link here. https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=698851
SJT75 said:
At least F-droid have in descriptions of application requirements that state minimal version of Android it can be run from on my tablet it is so. I hope that is also the case with f-droid run from NST. If I had to choose device name for spoofing purposes on that YALP application my bet would be some of the phones running Eclair. Last were some Motorola phones from 2015 as far as I recall. Since on my NST social and even shop stopped working properly I am more and more leaning to go through the road taken by many and ditch original software and start tweaking and tinkering with the device. Eclair is so old that I do not know is there many application left to work with but in case this thread escaped attention I will leave link here. https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=698851
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Run" and "work" are not always the same thing. The original Yalp Store stopped working in the mid 0.4x series. It could not log in, even with your Google account, probably due to SSL issues. The fork of the Yalp Store can log in but search is broken and download does not work. Search defaults to a device search rather than a search of the PlayStore and attempts to download an app from the Categories results in a crash. I've sent results to the developer but there does not seem to be a lot of change going on there (the app does work on the NST CM 11 ROM). It's pretty moot as there is not a lot in the Market any longer that will work on the NST. It's "easier" in the long run to do your homework and then search for the app you think will work using Apkpure or similar.
If Social and Shop have stopped working on your device you probably have not updated to 1.2.2.
nmyshkin said:
"Run" and "work" are not always the same thing. The original Yalp Store stopped working in the mid 0.4x series. It could not log in, even with your Google account, probably due to SSL issues. The fork of the Yalp Store can log in but search is broken and download does not work. Search defaults to a device search rather than a search of the PlayStore and attempts to download an app from the Categories results in a crash. I've sent results to the developer but there does not seem to be a lot of change going on there (the app does work on the NST CM 11 ROM). It's pretty moot as there is not a lot in the Market any longer that will work on the NST. It's "easier" in the long run to do your homework and then search for the app you think will work using Apkpure or similar.
If Social and Shop have stopped working on your device you probably have not updated to 1.2.2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True about that. Should and will are two different verbs meaning. Interesting info about that app is still working but under different ROM. Just for the sake of making things clear all custom made things here on the forum are still based on Eclair and there were not any Android upgrades through custom ROM to preserve compatibility with B&N software?
About your Nook page say that I have version 1.2.2 of software. Remember that I have NST in untouched never modified condition that has active over the air active update as designed by B&N. So it might be that something gone wrong during update and I need to do it again manually from SD card or through computer. Shop behaves odd. It allows me to search for a book but does not allow me to download. Social do not connect at all.
I am just sifting through different apps looking for those that might be possible to use on NST. I have seen in F-droid repository two YALP stores. One from the original author that is not updated for over a year and second one labeled fork which is not updated for over nine months period. To add to confusion OP mentioned version 0.46 which is not the latest version original author placed in repository (his latest version is 0.45). Still forked version with that number exist sort of labeled 0.46-legacy IIRC. So what is exactly version up used that stopped working? Even an info about non-working app is good sometime to avoid loosing time on very much likely fruitless effort.
SJT75 said:
I am just sifting through different apps looking for those that might be possible to use on NST. I have seen in F-droid repository two YALP stores. One from the original author that is not updated for over a year and second one labeled fork which is not updated for over nine months period. To add to confusion OP mentioned version 0.46 which is not the latest version original author placed in repository (his latest version is 0.45). Still forked version with that number exist sort of labeled 0.46-legacy IIRC. So what is exactly version up used that stopped working? Even an info about non-working app is good sometime to avoid loosing time on very much likely fruitless effort.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it's a mess over there. You have to go to the github to access older versions of the original Yalp Store. So you can see there that the developer of the "fork" just picked up with version 0.45 and carried on. The "legacy" refers to a simpler UI such as can run on Android 2.1, for example, as even the original developer started branching out, eventually releasing two versions of the app each time. Actually it was after the app tried to become a little more fancy that it began to have trouble on the NST (surprise). It's been quite awhile since I ran the app on the NST but I suppose somewhere in my original post about the Yalp Store the version is mentioned (probably started with 0.39, if memory serves, and then moved along as login failed when Google changed things; at one time I think I got as far as 0.43)
One issue with the "fork" (besides the fact that "fork" is in the screen display name...) on the NST is that Search is broken. It defaults to a device search rather than a PlayStore search. Not sure if this was ever a problem with the original. I'll have to download a few versions and see. Also, even if you wade through the categories and select an app that way, it crashes when you try to download.
All that said, those are definitely NST issues since the most recent version of the "fork" runs fine on the CM 11 sdcard-ROM for the NST (including Search and download)
nmyshkin said:
Yeah, it's a mess over there. You have to go to the github to access older versions of the original Yalp Store. So you can see there that the developer of the "fork" just picked up with version 0.45 and carried on. The "legacy" refers to a simpler UI such as can run on Android 2.1, for example, as even the original developer started branching out, eventually releasing two versions of the app each time. Actually it was after the app tried to become a little more fancy that it began to have trouble on the NST (surprise). It's been quite awhile since I ran the app on the NST but I suppose somewhere in my original post about the Yalp Store the version is mentioned (probably started with 0.39, if memory serves, and then moved along as login failed when Google changed things; at one time I think I got as far as 0.43)
One issue with the "fork" (besides the fact that "fork" is in the screen display name...) on the NST is that Search is broken. It defaults to a device search rather than a PlayStore search. Not sure if this was ever a problem with the original. I'll have to download a few versions and see. Also, even if you wade through the categories and select an app that way, it crashes when you try to download.
All that said, those are definitely NST issues since the most recent version of the "fork" runs fine on the CM 11 sdcard-ROM for the NST (including Search and download)
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Click to collapse
Thanks for reply with all quality info there! Does github work on NST or have done cloning/compiling elsewhere and sideload app to NST? Interesting issue with search on NST. It looks to me like B&N manage to pull another fast one on us like they did with "nonexistent" browser. I believe that somehow they screwed search through basically invoking any search attempt to link to their search library/shop application instead. Probably author in early versions used his search function but later decided to exploit some inbuilt Android/Google option that B&N screwed with. That might be the reason why on running the app through CM11 ROM from flashcard everything works as author intended/expected to work had NST be ordinary Android device. Now question remains...is that search function still there on NST but "hidden" and can it be somehow re-enabled or some heavier work lies on that road?
SJT75 said:
Thanks for reply with all quality info there! Does github work on NST or have done cloning/compiling elsewhere and sideload app to NST? Interesting issue with search on NST. It looks to me like B&N manage to pull another fast one on us like they did with "nonexistent" browser. I believe that somehow they screwed search through basically invoking any search attempt to link to their search library/shop application instead. Probably author in early versions used his search function but later decided to exploit some inbuilt Android/Google option that B&N screwed with. That might be the reason why on running the app through CM11 ROM from flashcard everything works as author intended/expected to work had NST be ordinary Android device. Now question remains...is that search function still there on NST but "hidden" and can it be somehow re-enabled or some heavier work lies on that road?
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So here's a run-down of what still "works" on the stock NST:
Only one version of the original Yalp Store passes every test but one. Version 0.35 succeeds in log-in (with your own Google account--no version successfully logs in with a generic Yalp Store account), Categories successfully brings up lists of apps and you can download/install from these lists. Search shows in light grey within the field "applications" and an initial search string brings up a number of more specific items, but no matter which you select it always returns "no apps".
As to the "fork", you can log in with a Google account, but Categories is blank, and Search shows in light grey within the field "Search NOOK(R)" and will dutifully check the Library, Shops, Social, etc. Totally useless.
So it seems the most nearly working is 0.35 of the original app series. Presumably the API for getting search information from the PlayStore is no longer correct. However, it may be possible for someone clever (more clever than I) to reverse engineer or cross engineer versions. Since we know the "fork" versions work on a non-NST ROM, it seems the API or whatever for Search is currently valid in them. Why they default to device search remains a mystery.
I should add that I did not try device spoofing in any of my tests. Too many variables for my brain. It may be that changing the apparent device ID would bring up apps in Categories which is otherwise blank. But using Categories to select apps is painful. A working Search is essential or the app is pretty useless.
nmyshkin said:
So here's a run-down of what still "works" on the stock NST:
Only one version of the original Yalp Store passes every test but one. Version 0.35 succeeds in log-in (with your own Google account--no version successfully logs in with a generic Yalp Store account), Categories successfully brings up lists of apps and you can download/install from these lists. Search shows in light grey within the field "applications" and an initial search string brings up a number of more specific items, but no matter which you select it always returns "no apps".
As to the "fork", you can log in with a Google account, but Categories is blank, and Search shows in light grey within the field "Search NOOK(R)" and will dutifully check the Library, Shops, Social, etc. Totally useless.
So it seems the most nearly working is 0.35 of the original app series. Presumably the API for getting search information from the PlayStore is no longer correct. However, it may be possible for someone clever (more clever than I) to reverse engineer or cross engineer versions. Since we know the "fork" versions work on a non-NST ROM, it seems the API or whatever for Search is currently valid in them. Why they default to device search remains a mystery.
I should add that I did not try device spoofing in any of my tests. Too many variables for my brain. It may be that changing the apparent device ID would bring up apps in Categories which is otherwise blank. But using Categories to select apps is painful. A working Search is essential or the app is pretty useless.
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Hmmm...well nice to know what is working. Interesting that YALP spoofing does not work but you can login using your credentials. I was under impression that nothing in the line of Gapps works now on NST due to changes implemented by big G..gle. Since other methods like G-droid, Aurora store etc.are out of option due to their android version incompatibility it seems that sideloading through SD card and PC is only option left viable. That present another problem of search for a right app on web through PC but it seems like a topic for another thread. I believe that we also opened here another rabbit hole of messed up search on NST which is if I remember well been observed in several situation/application. On my side I think that two things I found. First apparently working search in B&N Shop does not have to mean anything as it seems that it simply goes through internally downloaded DB of their Shop. My request for download never delivers anything and it seems that internet connection to B&N servers is down. Interestingly later I received e-mail from B&N claiming that my books are ready for delivery. I will investigate this and report back about outcome but it seems that there is someone on the other end of my request sending listening and filing the intent but from some reason unbeknownst to me they do not send the requested file. Maybe they opted for another method of delivery in case of such outdated devices due to possible security problem/flaw? We will see.
While researching about Opera browser something came to my attention and I have to ask about it and this look as good place as any. I remember that people here managed to use Amazon app to download applications to NST that I have no information is it still working. However I stumbled upon an info about something called Opera store. Since Opera is still working on NST if the ancient version allows using Opera Store that might be interesting option? Has someone checked that out?
SJT75 said:
While researching about Opera browser something came to my attention and I have to ask about it and this look as good place as any. I remember that people here managed to use Amazon app to download applications to NST that I have no information is it still working. However I stumbled upon an info about something called Opera store. Since Opera is still working on NST if the ancient version allows using Opera Store that might be interesting option? Has someone checked that out?
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I had always thought the Opera Store was for Opera extensions and addons, but you made me take a look.
Supposedly the URL is apps.opera.com, but this redirects to something called the "Bemobi Mobile Store" (using the Opera logo). The site loads fine in Opera Mini on the NST, probably Opera Mobile as well, although I did not try.
I looked at a few apps just to see what would happen. There didn't seem to be any check on the Android version. In each case I tried, tapping on the "Download" button took me to the Android Market agreement (i.e., the PlayStore entry) so whatever is going on there, it doesn't seem to be an actual "store" as much as a listing of apps with referral to the PlayStore (where, of course, the NST cannot go). There may be exceptions. Obviously I didn't try everything.
In the long run, there is very little point in some kind of Market access for the NST. If you want to try something you need to track it down. There are all kinds of sites like Apkpure, etc., that can be sources for old versions of apps. The other day I came across a huge listing of Android 2.1 apps (by an XDA member, as it happens) and most of them had dead PlayStore links. But with a version number and a little searching I had little trouble finding the few that sounded interesting.
I had hope that Opera tried to make their version of store like Amazon did or at least manage to make their online browser based version of Aurora which considering what they do with Opera Mobile wouldn't be that hard to achieve. Nevermind sideloading for the win it is!