The Official Android thread.

[quote name='dmaul1114']I haven't read much about the OS. Most of the criticisms I've seen where related to form factor (bulky compared to the iPad2) and the lack of Apps vs. the iPad.

As noted above for me personally, the 16x9 screens kill a lot of other tablets for me. I use them mostly to read and work with documents so I don't like the wide screen ratio as it's too narrow in portrait orientation for a lot of documents.[/QUOTE]

The iPad2 is killing it in the form factor, from slimness to weight. I am not sure on widescreen. It does feel realllly weird to hold a Xoom for any period of time in portrait, but, having never owned a tablet, I'm not sure if I'd use portrait or landscape more. I like 16:10 landscape because videos would look great in that, and I'm a big movie guy, so it's got my interest. The business with the Tegra2 and high-profile HD though has me very wary.

It seemed like I read a lot of reviews that said Honeycomb seemed very unfinished and not polished enough, but maybe they meant the Xoom in general.
 
Yeah, I love movies but have little interest in watching them on a small screen. If I can't see them in the theater, I'll at least watch them on my 50" TV. :D

But yeah, it comes down to usage. If you're primarily using a tablet like an e-reader and reading books, pdf/word documents, comics, magazines, newspaper apps etc. then portrait orientation will be your most common use and wide screen isn't ideal for that as it's very narrow in portrait.

If you're mainly using it for videos and surfing the net etc., then landscape is the norm and widescreen is ideal.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Yeah, I love movies but have little interest in watching them on a small screen. If I can't see them in the theater, I'll at least watch them on my 50" TV. :D[/quote]
I think I'll probably grow weary of the novelty of video on a tablet pretty quick, with my 50 incher a few feet away myself. So that point might be moot :D

But yeah, it comes down to usage. If you're primarily using a tablet like an e-reader and reading books, pdf/word documents, comics, magazines, newspaper apps etc. then portrait orientation will be your most common use and wide screen isn't ideal for that as it's very narrow in portrait.

If you're mainly using it for videos and surfing the net etc., then landscape is the norm and widescreen is ideal.
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PDF's might be less than ideal in it, but even books I think would be at least tolerable in landscape. And I really like the page side-by-side look in landscape. But yeah, I think I'd use it the most for web browsing. Totally see your point though, and portrait on a widescreen is less than ideal. I guess I'll see, if I ever get the money for a tablet.
 
Yeah, books are just preference. I like one page at a time--but I'm used to that from doing all my novel reading on a Kindle for the past couple of years.

PDFs I prefer in portrait vs. 1/2 page at a time in landscape. Though some have to be read that way anyway as they're too large (and text too small) to read in portrait anyway. I wouldn't mind a tablet with a screen an inch or two larger if they could keep the weight down as that would help a lot with reading 8.5 x 11" documents in portrait.
 
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The next Samsung tablets are supposed to be really thin, could be thinner than the iPad 2. Motorola seems to love making bulky stuff, even their phones aren't the slimmest things out there.
 
[quote name='Clak']The next Samsung tablets are supposed to be really thin, could be thinner than the iPad 2. Motorola seems to love making bulky stuff, even their phones aren't the slimmest things out there.[/QUOTE]
I had forgotten that. I am pretty sure the Tab 10.1 is the tablet for me. Thinner and lighter than iPad2, better cameras, and the same price for w Wifi 16GB? Too bad there is that "touchwiz" interface, and no usb. Without Honeycomb in AOSP, we won't get decent ports for this tablet to replace the interface for a while. Shame.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Hardware is really key as well. Even if the OS is great, it's not going to sell if it's not packed in a device as thin and sleek as the iPad 2, with the same or better battery life and at the same or cheaper price.[/QUOTE]
I don't think being thin/sleek is as important as people make it out to be. It's tough to know because there really aren't alternatives out there.

I think people wouldn't mind a little extra wt or less battery life for a better tablet experience. We'll see...
 
[quote name='GrilledWitOnions']I had forgotten that. I am pretty sure the Tab 10.1 is the tablet for me. Thinner and lighter than iPad2, better cameras, and the same price for w Wifi 16GB? Too bad there is that "touchwiz" interface, and no usb. Without Honeycomb in AOSP, we won't get decent ports for this tablet to replace the interface for a while. Shame.[/QUOTE]
I'm sure the home screen apps are being updated for tablets. I've used zeam on my Nook Color and it works really well.
 
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[quote name='dothog']I don't think being thin/sleek is as important as people make it out to be. It's tough to know because there really aren't alternatives out there.

I think people wouldn't mind a little extra wt or less battery life for a better tablet experience. We'll see...[/QUOTE]

Portability is key for me. Get much thicker or heavier than the iPad and I'd just stick with a small laptop personally.
 
[quote name='Clak']I'm sure the home screen apps are being updated for tablets. I've used zeam on my Nook Color and it works really well.[/QUOTE]
I mean it's not using stock Honeycomb and I would like to, but since it's not open sourced, we'll be out of luck.
 
Didn't see a thread for Android apps, is there one?

I saw tried this new game called " 'Dillo Hills" and it is interesting. It is a "Tiny Wings" Clone from the iphone. Basically trying to make the little guy fly by diving off slopes after picking up speed.

This thread has some info about it.

There is a lite version on the marketplace, and a $0.99 paid version.
 
[quote name='NamPaehc']Didn't see a thread for Android apps, is there one?

I saw tried this new game called " 'Dillo Hills" and it is interesting. It is a "Tiny Wings" Clone from the iphone. Basically trying to make the little guy fly by diving off slopes after picking up speed.

This thread has some info about it.

There is a lite version on the marketplace, and a $0.99 paid version.[/QUOTE]

The music in that game is amazing! I love it. I'll be trying the demo and then probably buying it if it runs well.

There is a sale thread for Android, an Amazon Appstore thread, and this thread, AFAIK.
 
[quote name='elessar123']The ONLY reason I wish I had a keyboard on my phone is so I can play Angband.[/QUOTE]

I like a QWERTY keyboard because i get 100% of my screen space while I'm entering data into the phone. I also like that my screen can remain nice and clean after a text message, as opposed to requiring a wipe-down.
 
[quote name='BattleChicken']I like a QWERTY keyboard because i get 100% of my screen space while I'm entering data into the phone. I also like that my screen can remain nice and clean after a text message, as opposed to requiring a wipe-down.[/QUOTE]

Plenty of space on my phone with both on screen.

Random image from Google:

droidxapps.jpg
 
Yeah I don't get why anyone would buy something from Amazon that is free on the market anyway, I guess that version probably doesn't have ads though.

I don't get why people with physical keyboards still use the on screen keyboard, what is the point? A guy I work with has a Droid 2 and doesn't use the physical keyboard.
 
[quote name='Clak']Yeah I don't get why anyone would buy something from Amazon that is free on the market anyway, I guess that version probably doesn't have ads though.

I don't get why people with physical keyboards still use the on screen keyboard, what is the point? A guy I work with has a Droid 2 and doesn't use the physical keyboard.[/QUOTE]

I have a g2 and hardly use the keyboard. Swype is just faster to use.
 
Can't speak to Android, but on the iOS (at least iPad version anyway) there's a free version of Angry Birds Seasons HD and a paid version for $1.99.

Not sure what the difference is as I only have the free version. In the app store there are reviews complaining about ads in the paid version. Sounds like just a Bing search/app after beating a level though vs. the in game ads in the free version. So I'm guessing ad removal is the only difference as I'd think reviews would mention extra levels.
 
Yeah I haven't really tried any of the previous beta releases. without flash I don't really see the point. I don't want multiple browsers because each one is good at doing one particular thing.
 
Yeah the amazon version of seasons has no ads. A lot of people seem to like that. There is a "news" section though when you go into the pause menu that I think the devs can update.

Also the amazon store has discounts on certain apps which might make it worth checking both if you are about to buy something off the market.
 
If you get stuff on amazon market, can you re-download them on another android device? Say if I get a replacement phone or if I end up getting a tablet, would they work on new device or would I have to re-buy stuff?
 
I've already bought Fruit Ninja from the Android Market - any compelling reasons to replace it with the Amazon version? I guess it would just replace my Market app but Google still has record of the purchase?
 
[quote name='GrilledWitOnions']I've already bought Fruit Ninja from the Android Market - any compelling reasons to replace it with the Amazon version? I guess it would just replace my Market app but Google still has record of the purchase?[/QUOTE]

Not sure on that one.. I never downloaded it before until it was free on amazon market. How do you play multiplayer in it though? I notice if you go to the Feint Leaderboards, theres a "Multiplayer Victories" section.. Do you have to unlock that mode from main menu?
 
That was pretty sweet of them to put up Fruit Ninja. I'd been wanting to play it for awhile and I sunk a half-hour into it EASILY. Very fun game.
 
Wow, Firefox browser released? I'm downloading it now.

Read something the other day that pissed me off. After months of promising a Netflix app, it turns out they won't actually be releasing it when it's ready. Only "new" phones will get it, as a selling point...which sorta defeats the purpose of what Google is going for with the Android platform. That's the #1 most desired app for me, and the Incredible probably won't get it. Seems like after they put out the Thunderbolt, the Incredible has been abandoned. Verizon won't even update it with Gingerbread, or anything for that matter. Guess they prefer to force people to buy new phones, and make an extra penny off it after they shitcanned the "New Every Two" incentive so they could make more money off iPhone sales from carrier jumpers.
 
[quote name='crunchb3rry']Wow, Firefox browser released? I'm downloading it now.

Read something the other day that pissed me off. After months of promising a Netflix app, it turns out they won't actually be releasing it when it's ready. Only "new" phones will get it, as a selling point...which sorta defeats the purpose of what Google is going for with the Android platform. That's the #1 most desired app for me, and the Incredible probably won't get it. Seems like after they put out the Thunderbolt, the Incredible has been abandoned. Verizon won't even update it with Gingerbread, or anything for that matter. Guess they prefer to force people to buy new phones, and make an extra penny off it after they shitcanned the "New Every Two" incentive so they could make more money off iPhone sales from carrier jumpers.[/QUOTE]

I have a netflix apk that works on the droid incredible just fine. The Evo/Inc are the same hardware and both have the drm chipset inside, so they function no problem.
 
[quote name='blitz6speed']I have a netflix apk that works on the droid incredible just fine. The Evo/Inc are the same hardware and both have the drm chipset inside, so they function no problem.[/QUOTE]

Is your apk working with instant watch?
 
The last I heard was that only certain phones with a particular processor (Qualcomm Snapdragon) had the DRM in the hardware to use Netflix. Unless something else has been said, I just don't buy it. The Netflix app has been ripped out and works on other phones (without streaming, yes - although apparently streaming went live a few days ago for a few hours).

Netflix really has nothing to gain by withholding it from every device - I don't subscribe to Netflix but would try it, at least for a month of streaming, if I could check it out on my phone. It would mean millions of potential new subscribers, or at the very least satisfied current customers that might not drop Android but drop Netflix. It's much easier to cancel Netflix than to change phones (thanks a lot wireless mafia telcos!)

The only thing I see stopping Netflix on most devices is that apparently they don't think Android is secure enough - but I think we'll see that change at Google I/O. One of the features of Honeycomb, if I recall correctly, is that it has much better DRM support. I think Ice Cream Sandwhich will have a lot of honeycomb stuff moved over, including DRM suitable for Netflix.

I also don't see how that one particular processor is all that will have the DRM necessary, although that's how it's been presented thus far.

I am hoping what's happening here is that Netflix is ready, they just need Android to be ready, and then they will drop it on all phones with the proper OS version. Google's move towards trying to 'standardize' Android might be part of this in fact - trying to get stuff in line for better updates to Ice Cream Sandwhich.

I really hope I'm right on this - I really want to see some great new updates at Google I/O. I was pretty stoked about Google Music, but now I need to see some real progress in getting their fuck together.

edit: And yeah, I just wrote getting their fuck together. I love that little fucker image.
 
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[quote name='Demolition Man']Is your apk working with instant watch?[/QUOTE]

Im also curious.. I got it to work a few weeks ago but I believe it only worked for a day..

Is there an updated working apk?
 
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